Global Payments Sees Unusually Large Options Volume (NYSE:GPN)

Global Payments Inc. (NYSE:GPN) was the recipient of some unusual options trading on Thursday. Stock investors acquired 10,198 call options on the company. This represents an increase of approximately 157% compared to the average daily volume of 3,968 call options.

Insider Buying and Selling at Global Payments

In other Global Payments news, CAO David M. Sheffield sold 1,651 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $100.73, for a total value of $166,305.23. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 20,531 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,068,087.63. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. 0.98% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Global Payments

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of GPN. New Covenant Trust Company N.A. purchased a new stake in Global Payments during the first quarter valued at about $31,000. LRI Investments LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Global Payments in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $32,000. POM Investment Strategies LLC purchased a new position in Global Payments during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $32,000. West Paces Advisors Inc. raised its stake in Global Payments by 54.5% during the 1st quarter. West Paces Advisors Inc. now owns 309 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $41,000 after purchasing an additional 109 shares during the period. Finally, North Star Investment Management Corp. lifted its holdings in shares of Global Payments by 154.7% in the first quarter. North Star Investment Management Corp. now owns 354 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $47,000 after purchasing an additional 215 shares in the last quarter. 89.76% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Global Payments Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:GPN opened at $100.61 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $25.60 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.43, a PEG ratio of 0.74 and a beta of 0.98. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68, a current ratio of 0.92 and a quick ratio of 0.92. Global Payments has a 12 month low of $91.60 and a 12 month high of $141.77. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $105.49 and its 200 day moving average price is $107.03.

Global Payments (NYSE:GPN) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 7th. The business services provider reported $2.93 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.90 by $0.03. Global Payments had a return on equity of 11.93% and a net margin of 14.26%. The company had revenue of $2.57 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.32 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $2.48 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 4.7% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts anticipate that Global Payments will post 11.07 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Global Payments Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 27th. Stockholders of record on Friday, September 13th were given a dividend of $0.25 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, September 13th. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.99%. Global Payments’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 18.32%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have recently commented on GPN. BNP Paribas raised shares of Global Payments to a “strong sell” rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 4th. Stephens reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $130.00 target price on shares of Global Payments in a research report on Wednesday, September 18th. Susquehanna reissued a “positive” rating and set a $147.00 price target on shares of Global Payments in a research report on Tuesday, September 17th. William Blair downgraded shares of Global Payments from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, September 25th. Finally, Morgan Stanley lowered their target price on shares of Global Payments from $164.00 to $156.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, September 25th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a hold rating and fifteen have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $139.55.

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.