Morgan Stanley Lowers Global Payments (NYSE:GPN) Price Target to $163.00

Global Payments (NYSE:GPN) had its price objective cut by Morgan Stanley from $166.00 to $163.00 in a note issued to investors on Friday,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has an “overweight” rating on the business services provider’s stock. Morgan Stanley’s price target points to a potential upside of 54.26% from the stock’s current price.

Other equities analysts also recently issued reports about the stock. Sanford C. Bernstein downgraded shares of Global Payments from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and dropped their target price for the stock from $135.00 to $112.00 in a research note on Tuesday, October 22nd. Stephens downgraded Global Payments from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and reduced their price objective for the stock from $125.00 to $120.00 in a report on Friday, January 10th. The Goldman Sachs Group reiterated a “neutral” rating and issued a $122.00 target price (down from $155.00) on shares of Global Payments in a report on Thursday, January 9th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price target on Global Payments from $118.00 to $115.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, October 29th. Finally, Barclays increased their target price on shares of Global Payments from $120.00 to $135.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 17th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have issued a hold rating and fifteen have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $135.76.

Global Payments Stock Up 1.5 %

Shares of NYSE:GPN opened at $105.67 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $26.89 billion, a PE ratio of 19.90, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.80 and a beta of 1.01. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $110.97 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $108.56. Global Payments has a 1 year low of $91.60 and a 1 year high of $141.77. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65, a current ratio of 0.93 and a quick ratio of 0.93.

Global Payments (NYSE:GPN) last released its earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The business services provider reported $2.84 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.98 by ($0.14). The business had revenue of $2.29 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.31 billion. Global Payments had a return on equity of 11.94% and a net margin of 13.61%. On average, equities analysts predict that Global Payments will post 11 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Robert H. B. Baldwin, Jr. purchased 5,800 shares of Global Payments stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, December 13th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $116.00 per share, for a total transaction of $672,800.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 42,738 shares in the company, valued at $4,957,608. The trade was a 15.70 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Insiders own 0.98% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Global Payments

Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Cromwell Holdings LLC acquired a new stake in Global Payments during the third quarter valued at $25,000. Beaird Harris Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Global Payments in the 3rd quarter valued at about $25,000. Optiver Holding B.V. purchased a new position in shares of Global Payments in the 4th quarter valued at about $28,000. Capital Performance Advisors LLP purchased a new position in Global Payments during the third quarter worth approximately $33,000. Finally, Whipplewood Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Global Payments in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $37,000. 89.76% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.