Stephens Downgrades Global Payments (NYSE:GPN) to Equal Weight

Global Payments (NYSE:GPN) was downgraded by stock analysts at Stephens from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating in a note issued to investors on Friday, Marketbeat.com reports. They currently have a $120.00 price objective on the business services provider’s stock. Stephens’ price target suggests a potential upside of 7.74% from the company’s current price.

Several other equities research analysts have also recently weighed in on GPN. Oppenheimer began coverage on Global Payments in a research report on Tuesday, October 1st. They set a “market perform” rating on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada cut their price objective on Global Payments from $143.00 to $130.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, October 31st. Monness Crespi & Hardt lowered their target price on shares of Global Payments from $165.00 to $155.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, September 25th. BMO Capital Markets lowered their price objective on shares of Global Payments from $126.00 to $122.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, September 25th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their target price on Global Payments from $130.00 to $140.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, December 9th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have given a hold rating and fourteen have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $136.82.

Global Payments Trading Down 0.8 %

Shares of GPN stock opened at $111.38 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $28.35 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.98, a PEG ratio of 0.88 and a beta of 1.00. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $114.16 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $106.57. 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.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Global Payments news, Director Robert H. B. Baldwin, Jr. acquired 5,800 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, December 13th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $116.00 per share, for a total transaction of $672,800.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now owns 42,738 shares in the company, valued at $4,957,608. This trade represents a 15.70 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 0.98% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Pzena Investment Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Global Payments by 3.4% during the third quarter. Pzena Investment Management LLC now owns 6,638,862 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $679,952,000 after acquiring an additional 215,399 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its position in Global Payments by 0.5% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 5,928,445 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $605,078,000 after purchasing an additional 31,934 shares during the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. increased its stake in Global Payments by 1.5% during the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 5,499,729 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $564,437,000 after purchasing an additional 83,481 shares in the last quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB raised its holdings in Global Payments by 13.4% in the fourth quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 2,949,458 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $330,516,000 after buying an additional 349,457 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Janus Henderson Group PLC lifted its stake in shares of 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 worth $271,090,000 after buying an additional 490,411 shares in the last quarter. 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.