Global Payments (NYSE:GPN) Downgraded by Sanford C. Bernstein to Market Perform

Sanford C. Bernstein lowered shares of Global Payments (NYSE:GPN) from an outperform rating to a market perform rating in a research note released on Tuesday, MarketBeat reports. Sanford C. Bernstein currently has $112.00 price target on the business services provider’s stock, down from their previous price target of $135.00.

GPN has been the topic of several other research reports. Royal Bank of Canada dropped their target price on Global Payments from $158.00 to $143.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, October 4th. Oppenheimer began coverage on Global Payments in a report on Tuesday, October 1st. They issued a “market perform” rating on the stock. TD Cowen decreased their target price on Global Payments from $125.00 to $122.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, September 25th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on shares of Global Payments from $111.00 to $118.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 20th. Finally, Evercore ISI cut their price objective on shares of Global Payments from $170.00 to $160.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, June 25th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have given a hold rating and sixteen have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Global Payments presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $137.65.

Global Payments Stock Performance

Shares of Global Payments stock opened at $99.53 on Tuesday. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $105.69 and a 200-day simple moving average of $105.26. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68, a quick ratio of 0.92 and a current ratio of 0.92. Global Payments has a one year low of $91.60 and a one year high of $141.77. The company has a market cap of $25.41 billion, a PE ratio of 19.75, a P/E/G ratio of 0.74 and a beta of 0.98.

Global Payments (NYSE:GPN) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 7th. The business services provider reported $2.93 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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 company had revenue of $2.57 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.32 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $2.48 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 4.7% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Global Payments will post 11.07 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Global Payments Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 27th. Stockholders of record on Friday, September 13th were paid a dividend of $0.25 per share. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.00%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, September 13th. Global Payments’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 19.84%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CAO David M. Sheffield sold 1,651 shares of Global Payments stock in a transaction 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 completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 20,531 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,068,087.63. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Insiders own 0.98% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Cromwell Holdings LLC purchased a new position in Global Payments during the 3rd quarter valued at about $25,000. New Covenant Trust Company N.A. acquired a new stake in shares of Global Payments in the first quarter valued at approximately $31,000. LRI Investments LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Global Payments in the first quarter valued at approximately $32,000. POM Investment Strategies LLC purchased a new position in shares of Global Payments during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $32,000. Finally, Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. raised its position in shares of Global Payments by 59.6% during the 3rd quarter. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. now owns 383 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $39,000 after purchasing an additional 143 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 89.76% of the company’s stock.

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.