Global Payments (NYSE:GPN) Given “Neutral” Rating at The Goldman Sachs Group

The Goldman Sachs Group reissued their neutral rating on shares of Global Payments (NYSE:GPN) in a report released on Thursday,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has a $122.00 price objective on the business services provider’s stock, down from their prior price objective of $155.00.

A number of other research firms also recently weighed in on GPN. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased 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 report on Tuesday, October 29th. Morgan Stanley lifted their target price 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. KeyCorp cut their price target on shares of Global Payments from $145.00 to $135.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, September 25th. William Blair downgraded Global Payments from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, September 25th. Finally, Barclays upped their target price on Global Payments from $120.00 to $135.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 17th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have given a hold rating and fifteen have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $137.05.

Global Payments Stock Down 0.8 %

Shares of GPN opened at $111.38 on Thursday. The company has a market capitalization of $28.35 billion, a PE ratio of 20.98, a PEG ratio of 0.88 and a beta of 1.00. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $114.16 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $106.57. The company has a current ratio of 0.93, a quick ratio of 0.93 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65. Global Payments has a 12 month low of $91.60 and a 12 month high of $141.77.

Global Payments Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 27th. Stockholders of record on Friday, December 13th were issued a $0.25 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, December 13th. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.90%. Global Payments’s dividend payout ratio is currently 18.83%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Global Payments news, Director Robert H. B. Baldwin, Jr. acquired 5,800 shares of Global Payments stock in a transaction on Friday, December 13th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $116.00 per share, for a total transaction of $672,800.00. Following the purchase, the director now directly owns 42,738 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,957,608. This trade represents a 15.70 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. 0.98% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Global Payments

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Stanley Capital Management LLC raised its position in Global Payments by 18.9% in the second quarter. Stanley Capital Management LLC now owns 125,608 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $12,146,000 after acquiring an additional 20,000 shares during the period. Nordea Investment Management AB lifted its stake in Global Payments by 13.4% in the fourth quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 2,949,458 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $330,516,000 after purchasing an additional 349,457 shares during the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA grew its holdings in 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 purchasing an additional 785,539 shares during the period. Entropy Technologies LP purchased a new stake in Global Payments in the third quarter worth $562,000. Finally, Poplar Forest Capital LLC bought a new stake in shares of Global Payments in the third quarter valued at $13,184,000. 89.76% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Global Payments

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.