Global Payments (NYSE:GPN) Stock Price Down 4.4% Following Analyst Downgrade

Global Payments Inc. (NYSE:GPN)’s stock price traded down 4.4% during mid-day trading on Wednesday after Seaport Res Ptn downgraded the stock from a strong-buy rating to a hold rating. The stock traded as low as $98.27 and last traded at $99.23. 890,017 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 60% from the average session volume of 2,230,778 shares. The stock had previously closed at $103.81.

A number of other equities research analysts have also weighed in on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company began coverage on shares of Global Payments in a report on Wednesday, June 12th. They set an “equal weight” rating and a $100.00 price target for the company. Stephens restated an “overweight” rating and set a $130.00 target price on shares of Global Payments in a research note on Wednesday, September 18th. Monness Crespi & Hardt dropped their target price on Global Payments from $165.00 to $155.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday. StockNews.com downgraded Global Payments from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday. Finally, KeyCorp lowered their price objective on Global Payments from $145.00 to $135.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating and sixteen have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $141.36.

Insider Transactions at Global Payments

In related news, CAO David M. Sheffield sold 1,651 shares of the business’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 transaction of $166,305.23. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 20,531 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,068,087.63. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Insiders own 0.98% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Global Payments

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Fidelis Capital Partners LLC increased its stake in shares of Global Payments by 5.1% in the first quarter. Fidelis Capital Partners LLC now owns 1,930 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $258,000 after purchasing an additional 93 shares during the period. Oliver Luxxe Assets LLC increased its position in Global Payments by 0.3% in the 1st quarter. Oliver Luxxe Assets LLC now owns 34,435 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $4,603,000 after acquiring an additional 108 shares during the period. 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 acquiring an additional 109 shares in the last quarter. KFG Wealth Management LLC boosted its position in Global Payments by 6.4% during the 1st quarter. KFG Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,883 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $252,000 after acquiring an additional 114 shares during the period. Finally, Wedmont Private Capital boosted its position in Global Payments by 0.9% during the 1st quarter. Wedmont Private Capital now owns 13,859 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $1,776,000 after acquiring an additional 119 shares during the period. 89.76% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Global Payments Stock Performance

The company has a market cap of $24.93 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.38, a PEG ratio of 0.71 and a beta of 0.98. The company has a quick ratio of 0.92, a current ratio of 0.92 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $105.63 and a 200-day moving average price of $109.61.

Global Payments (NYSE:GPN) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, August 7th. The business services provider reported $2.93 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.90 by $0.03. The firm had revenue of $2.57 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.32 billion. Global Payments had a net margin of 14.26% and a return on equity of 11.93%. Global Payments’s revenue was up 4.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $2.48 EPS. Equities analysts expect that Global Payments Inc. will post 11.07 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Global Payments Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 27th. Shareholders of record on Friday, September 13th will be given a $0.25 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, September 13th. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.02%. Global Payments’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 19.84%.

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.