Global Payments (NYSE:GPN) Upgraded at StockNews.com

StockNews.com upgraded shares of Global Payments (NYSE:GPN) from a hold rating to a buy rating in a report issued on Thursday.

GPN has been the subject of several other research reports. B. Riley reduced their price target on shares of Global Payments from $204.00 to $194.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, September 25th. Oppenheimer assumed coverage on Global Payments in a research note on Tuesday, October 1st. They issued a “market perform” rating on the stock. Barclays increased their target price on Global Payments from $120.00 to $135.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 17th. Stephens downgraded shares of Global Payments from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and decreased their price target for the stock from $125.00 to $120.00 in a research report on Friday, January 10th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group decreased their price objective on Global Payments from $130.00 to $120.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, October 16th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have given a hold rating and fourteen have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Global Payments currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $135.71.

Global Payments Stock Up 1.0 %

GPN stock opened at $108.92 on Thursday. Global Payments has a twelve month low of $91.60 and a twelve month high of $141.77. The company has a quick ratio of 0.93, a current ratio of 0.93 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65. The business has a 50 day moving average of $113.26 and a 200 day moving average of $107.50. The firm has a market cap of $27.72 billion, a PE ratio of 20.51, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.78 and a beta of 1.00.

Global Payments Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 27th. Shareholders of record on Friday, December 13th were given a dividend of $0.25 per share. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.92%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, December 13th. Global Payments’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 18.83%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Global Payments

In other news, Director Robert H. B. Baldwin, Jr. bought 5,800 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, December 13th. The shares were bought at an average price of $116.00 per share, with a total value of $672,800.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now owns 42,738 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,957,608. This trade represents a 15.70 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. 0.98% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Global Payments

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Cromwell Holdings LLC acquired a new stake in Global Payments during the 3rd quarter valued at $25,000. Beaird Harris Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Global Payments in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $25,000. Capital Performance Advisors LLP bought a new stake in Global Payments in the third quarter valued at $33,000. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. increased its stake in shares of Global Payments by 59.6% in the third quarter. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. now owns 383 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $39,000 after purchasing an additional 143 shares during the period. Finally, Exchange Traded Concepts LLC bought a new stake in Global Payments during the 3rd quarter valued at $50,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 89.76% of the company’s stock.

Global Payments Company Profile

Global Payments Inc provides payment technology and software solutions for card, check, and digital-based payments in the Americas, Europe, and the Asia-Pacific. It operates through two segments, Merchant Solutions and Issuer Solutions. The Merchant Solutions segment offers authorization, settlement and funding, customer support, chargeback resolution, terminal rental, sales and deployment, payment security, and consolidated billing and reporting services.