Stock Traders Purchase Large Volume of Global Payments Call Options (NYSE:GPN)

Global Payments Inc. (NYSE:GPN) was the recipient of some unusual options trading on Wednesday. Stock traders acquired 6,120 call options on the company. This is an increase of approximately 77% compared to the average daily volume of 3,456 call options.

Global Payments Stock Up 0.5 %

Shares of Global Payments stock traded up $0.49 during trading hours on Wednesday, reaching $107.57. 775,222 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,525,504. The firm has a market cap of $27.37 billion, a PE ratio of 20.26, a PEG ratio of 0.80 and a beta of 1.01. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $111.61 and its 200 day moving average is $108.55. Global Payments has a 1 year low of $91.60 and a 1 year high of $141.77. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65, a quick ratio of 0.93 and a current ratio of 0.93.

Insider Transactions at Global Payments

In other Global Payments news, Director Robert H. B. Baldwin, Jr. acquired 5,800 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, December 13th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $116.00 per share, for a total transaction of $672,800.00. Following the acquisition, the director now owns 42,738 shares in the company, valued at $4,957,608. This represents a 15.70 % increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.98% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Global Payments

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Allstate Corp acquired a new stake in shares of Global Payments during the 4th quarter worth about $861,000. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. increased its stake in Global Payments by 374.2% in the fourth quarter. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. now owns 569 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $64,000 after purchasing an additional 449 shares during the last quarter. DnB Asset Management AS increased its stake in Global Payments by 7.0% in the fourth quarter. DnB Asset Management AS now owns 61,686 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $6,913,000 after purchasing an additional 4,050 shares during the last quarter. Orion Portfolio Solutions LLC raised its holdings in Global Payments by 2.0% during the fourth quarter. Orion Portfolio Solutions LLC now owns 18,695 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $2,095,000 after purchasing an additional 363 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. lifted its position in shares of Global Payments by 0.3% during the 4th quarter. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 77,633 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $8,700,000 after buying an additional 247 shares during the last quarter. 89.76% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have weighed in on GPN. The Goldman Sachs Group reissued a “neutral” rating and set a $122.00 price objective (down from $155.00) on shares of Global Payments in a research note on Thursday, January 9th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their target price on shares of Global Payments from $118.00 to $115.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, October 29th. Morgan Stanley raised their price target on shares of Global Payments from $156.00 to $166.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 18th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their target price on shares of Global Payments from $130.00 to $140.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, December 9th. Finally, Barclays lifted their price target on shares of Global Payments from $120.00 to $135.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 17th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have issued a hold rating and fourteen have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $135.71.

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.