Keefe, Bruyette & Woods Cuts Global Payments (NYSE:GPN) Price Target to $135.00

Global Payments (NYSE:GPN) had its price target lowered by Keefe, Bruyette & Woods from $140.00 to $135.00 in a report published on Monday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has an outperform rating on the business services provider’s stock.

A number of other research firms have also recently commented on GPN. StockNews.com raised shares of Global Payments from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. Citigroup decreased their price objective on shares of Global Payments from $138.00 to $135.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, February 18th. Barclays dropped their price objective on shares of Global Payments from $135.00 to $125.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, February 18th. Morgan Stanley dropped their price target on shares of Global Payments from $166.00 to $163.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, February 14th. Finally, Bank of America decreased their price objective on shares of Global Payments from $156.00 to $149.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, February 14th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have issued a hold rating and fifteen have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $134.10.

Global Payments Price Performance

Shares of GPN opened at $99.75 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66, a quick ratio of 0.93 and a current ratio of 0.97. Global Payments has a 52-week low of $90.99 and a 52-week high of $129.35. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $103.13 and a 200 day simple moving average of $107.11. The firm has a market capitalization of $24.53 billion, a PE ratio of 16.14, a P/E/G ratio of 0.86 and a beta of 0.97.

Global Payments (NYSE:GPN) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 13th. The business services provider reported $2.84 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.98 by ($0.14). Global Payments had a return on equity of 12.21% and a net margin of 15.54%. The business had revenue of $2.29 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.31 billion. Sell-side analysts predict that Global Payments will post 11.89 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Global Payments Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 28th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 14th were issued a $0.25 dividend. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.00%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 14th. Global Payments’s payout ratio is currently 16.18%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Global Payments

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Cerity Partners LLC increased its stake in Global Payments by 26.7% in the 3rd quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 23,136 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $2,370,000 after acquiring an additional 4,874 shares during the last quarter. Townsquare Capital LLC grew its holdings in shares of Global Payments by 4.4% during the third quarter. Townsquare Capital LLC now owns 3,892 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $399,000 after purchasing an additional 165 shares in the last quarter. CreativeOne Wealth LLC bought a new position in shares of Global Payments in the third quarter worth approximately $323,000. Public Sector Pension Investment Board raised its stake in Global Payments by 17.0% in the third quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board now owns 11,017 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,128,000 after purchasing an additional 1,600 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Verition Fund Management LLC lifted its position in Global Payments by 388.7% during the third quarter. Verition Fund Management LLC now owns 54,692 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $5,602,000 after purchasing an additional 43,500 shares during the last quarter. 89.76% of the stock is currently owned by 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.