Global Payments (NYSE:GPN) Downgraded to “Equal Weight” Rating by Stephens

Stephens cut shares of Global Payments (NYSE:GPN) from an overweight rating to an equal weight rating in a research note published on Friday, MarketBeat.com reports. The firm currently has $120.00 price objective on the business services provider’s stock, down from their prior price objective of $125.00.

GPN has been the subject of several other reports. StockNews.com downgraded Global Payments from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, January 3rd. Barclays raised their price objective on shares of Global Payments from $120.00 to $135.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 17th. Jefferies Financial Group reduced their target price on shares of Global Payments from $130.00 to $120.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, October 16th. The Goldman Sachs Group restated a “neutral” rating and issued a $122.00 price target (down from $155.00) on shares of Global Payments in a research report on Thursday. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price target on shares of Global Payments from $118.00 to $115.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, October 29th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have assigned a hold rating and thirteen have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $135.71.

Global Payments Stock Performance

Shares of Global Payments stock opened at $105.89 on Friday. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $114.19 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $106.64. The firm has a market capitalization of $26.95 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.94, a P/E/G ratio of 0.88 and a beta of 1.00. Global Payments has a fifty-two week low of $91.60 and a fifty-two week high of $141.77. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65, a current ratio of 0.93 and a quick ratio of 0.93.

Global Payments Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 27th. Investors of record on Friday, December 13th were given a $0.25 dividend. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.94%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, December 13th. Global Payments’s payout ratio is 18.83%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

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

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Global Payments

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA boosted its position in shares of Global Payments by 65.6% during the third quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 1,982,496 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $203,047,000 after buying an additional 785,539 shares during the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in Global Payments by 188.1% during the 2nd quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 1,157,728 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $109,857,000 after acquiring an additional 755,898 shares in the last quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC boosted its holdings in Global Payments by 22.7% during the 3rd quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 2,646,854 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $271,090,000 after acquiring an additional 490,411 shares during the last quarter. D. E. Shaw & Co. Inc. grew its stake in shares of Global Payments by 316.7% in the 2nd quarter. D. E. Shaw & Co. Inc. now owns 609,939 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $58,981,000 after acquiring an additional 463,568 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Soros Fund Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Global Payments in the third quarter valued at about $47,113,000. 89.76% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.