Royal Bank of Canada Cuts Global Payments (NYSE:GPN) Price Target to $143.00

Global Payments (NYSE:GPN) had its price target cut by research analysts at Royal Bank of Canada from $158.00 to $143.00 in a research report issued to clients and investors on Friday, Benzinga reports. The firm currently has an “outperform” rating on the business services provider’s stock. Royal Bank of Canada’s price target points to a potential upside of 44.96% from the stock’s current price.

Other equities research analysts also recently issued research reports about the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on Global Payments from $111.00 to $118.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 20th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lowered their price target on Global Payments from $150.00 to $140.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Monday, July 8th. Wells Fargo & Company began coverage on shares of Global Payments in a research report on Wednesday, June 12th. They issued an “equal weight” rating and a $100.00 target price on the stock. Morgan Stanley dropped their price target on shares of Global Payments from $164.00 to $156.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, September 25th. Finally, Monness Crespi & Hardt lowered their price objective on shares of Global Payments from $165.00 to $155.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, September 25th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating and fifteen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $139.55.

Global Payments Trading Up 0.5 %

Shares of GPN stock opened at $98.65 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $25.18 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.57, a PEG ratio of 0.71 and a beta of 0.98. The company has a current ratio of 0.92, a quick ratio of 0.92 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $105.54 and a 200 day moving average price of $108.03. Global Payments has a twelve month low of $91.60 and a twelve month high of $141.77.

Global Payments (NYSE:GPN) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 7th. The business services provider reported $2.93 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.90 by $0.03. Global Payments had a net margin of 14.26% and a return on equity of 11.93%. The business had revenue of $2.57 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.32 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $2.48 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 4.7% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts forecast that Global Payments will post 11.07 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CAO David M. Sheffield sold 1,651 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $100.73, for a total transaction of $166,305.23. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 20,531 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,068,087.63. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 0.98% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Global Payments

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. New Covenant Trust Company N.A. acquired a new position in Global Payments in the first quarter valued at approximately $31,000. LRI Investments LLC bought a new stake in shares of Global Payments in the 1st quarter worth approximately $32,000. POM Investment Strategies LLC acquired a new position in Global Payments during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $32,000. West Paces Advisors Inc. grew its stake in Global Payments by 54.5% during the 1st quarter. West Paces Advisors Inc. now owns 309 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $41,000 after buying an additional 109 shares during the last quarter. Finally, North Star Investment Management Corp. increased its position in Global Payments by 154.7% in the first quarter. North Star Investment Management Corp. now owns 354 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $47,000 after buying an additional 215 shares during the period. Institutional investors 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.