Morgan Stanley Boosts Shift4 Payments (NYSE:FOUR) Price Target to $70.00

Shift4 Payments (NYSE:FOUR) had its target price increased by Morgan Stanley from $66.00 to $70.00 in a research note published on Friday morning, Benzinga reports. The firm currently has an equal weight rating on the stock.

Other analysts also recently issued research reports about the company. Benchmark reissued a buy rating and set a $99.00 target price on shares of Shift4 Payments in a research note on Wednesday, July 17th. Wedbush initiated coverage on shares of Shift4 Payments in a research report on Friday, May 24th. They set a neutral rating and a $75.00 target price for the company. DA Davidson reaffirmed a buy rating and set a $96.00 target price on shares of Shift4 Payments in a research note on Wednesday, May 15th. Redburn Atlantic upgraded shares of Shift4 Payments from a sell rating to a neutral rating and set a $53.00 price target on the stock in a research note on Friday, April 19th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price objective on shares of Shift4 Payments from $80.00 to $90.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a report on Thursday, July 11th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus target price of $85.44.

Shift4 Payments Stock Performance

NYSE:FOUR traded up $0.68 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $71.38. 2,152,439 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,399,208. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $69.99 and its 200-day moving average price is $70.08. The firm has a market cap of $6.25 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 47.91, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.82 and a beta of 1.63. The company has a quick ratio of 1.70, a current ratio of 1.70 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.96. Shift4 Payments has a one year low of $42.91 and a one year high of $92.30.

Shift4 Payments (NYSE:FOUR) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 9th. The company reported $0.40 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.41 by ($0.01). Shift4 Payments had a net margin of 3.38% and a return on equity of 25.21%. The firm had revenue of $263.70 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $268.55 million. Research analysts anticipate that Shift4 Payments will post 3.04 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Sarah Goldsmith-Grover sold 1,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, June 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $72.06, for a total value of $72,060.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 9,474 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $682,696.44. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. In related news, CEO Jared Isaacman purchased 39,135 shares of Shift4 Payments stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 23rd. The shares were bought at an average price of $64.04 per share, with a total value of $2,506,205.40. Following the purchase, the chief executive officer now directly owns 621,962 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $39,830,446.48. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Sarah Goldsmith-Grover sold 1,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, June 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $72.06, for a total transaction of $72,060.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 9,474 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $682,696.44. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 30.57% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Shift4 Payments

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. J.Safra Asset Management Corp grew its stake in Shift4 Payments by 79.0% in the first quarter. J.Safra Asset Management Corp now owns 786 shares of the company’s stock worth $52,000 after purchasing an additional 347 shares in the last quarter. CWM LLC increased its stake in shares of Shift4 Payments by 27.1% during the second quarter. CWM LLC now owns 1,131 shares of the company’s stock valued at $83,000 after buying an additional 241 shares during the period. Harvest Fund Management Co. Ltd bought a new stake in shares of Shift4 Payments in the fourth quarter valued at about $90,000. Clear Street Markets LLC purchased a new stake in Shift4 Payments in the fourth quarter worth about $112,000. Finally, Natixis Investment Managers International bought a new position in Shift4 Payments during the 4th quarter worth about $116,000. 98.87% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Shift4 Payments Company Profile

Shift4 Payments, Inc (NYSE FOUR) provides integrated payment processing and technology solutions in the United States. Its payments platform provides omni-channel card acceptance and processing solutions, including end-to-end payment processing for various payment types; merchant acquiring; proprietary omni-channel gateway; complementary software integrations; integrated and mobile point-of-sale (POS) solutions; security and risk management solutions; and reporting and analytical tools, as well as tokenization, risk management/underwriting, payment device and chargeback management, fraud prevention, and gift card solutions.