Global Payments Inc. (NYSE:GPN) Receives $135.71 Average PT from Analysts

Shares of Global Payments Inc. (NYSE:GPN) have earned an average recommendation of “Hold” from the twenty-six analysts that are covering the firm, Marketbeat reports. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, twelve have given a hold recommendation and thirteen have issued a buy recommendation on the company. The average 1 year price objective among brokers that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $135.71.

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on GPN shares. Barclays upped their target price on Global Payments from $120.00 to $135.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 17th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their target price 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. The Goldman Sachs Group restated a “neutral” rating and issued a $122.00 price target (down previously from $155.00) on shares of Global Payments in a report on Thursday, January 9th. Sanford C. Bernstein downgraded shares of Global Payments from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and dropped their price objective for the company from $135.00 to $112.00 in a research note on Tuesday, October 22nd. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price objective on shares of Global Payments from $130.00 to $140.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, December 9th.

Global Payments Stock Up 1.5 %

Shares of NYSE GPN opened at $111.72 on Thursday. Global Payments has a 52-week low of $91.60 and a 52-week high of $141.77. The firm has a market capitalization of $28.43 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.04, a PEG ratio of 0.81 and a beta of 1.01. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $112.52 and a 200 day moving average price of $108.20. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65, a quick ratio of 0.93 and a current ratio of 0.93.

Insider Transactions at Global Payments

In other Global Payments news, Director Robert H. B. Baldwin, Jr. acquired 5,800 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, December 13th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $116.00 per share, for a total transaction of $672,800.00. Following the purchase, the director now owns 42,738 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,957,608. The trade was a 15.70 % increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.98% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Pzena Investment Management LLC boosted its position in Global Payments by 3.4% in the 3rd quarter. Pzena Investment Management LLC now owns 6,638,862 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $679,952,000 after purchasing an additional 215,399 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in Global Payments by 0.5% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 5,928,445 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $605,078,000 after buying an additional 31,934 shares in the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. grew its position in Global Payments by 1.5% during the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 5,499,729 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $564,437,000 after buying an additional 83,481 shares during the period. Nordea Investment Management AB grew its position in Global Payments by 13.4% during 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 buying an additional 349,457 shares during the period. Finally, Janus Henderson Group PLC increased its holdings in Global Payments by 22.7% in the third quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 2,646,854 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $271,090,000 after buying an additional 490,411 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors 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.