TD Cowen Lowers Global Payments (NYSE:GPN) Price Target to $122.00

Global Payments (NYSE:GPN) had its target price reduced by TD Cowen from $125.00 to $122.00 in a report released on Wednesday morning, Benzinga reports. TD Cowen currently has a buy rating on the business services provider’s stock.

A number of other brokerages also recently commented on GPN. Wells Fargo & Company began coverage on Global Payments in a research report on Wednesday, June 12th. They set an equal weight rating and a $100.00 price target for the company. Susquehanna reiterated a positive rating and issued a $147.00 target price on shares of Global Payments in a research note on Tuesday, September 17th. Royal Bank of Canada cut their price objective on shares of Global Payments from $172.00 to $158.00 and set an outperform rating for the company in a report on Thursday, August 8th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods decreased their price target on Global Payments from $150.00 to $140.00 and set an outperform rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, July 8th. Finally, BNP Paribas raised shares of Global Payments to a strong sell rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 4th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating and sixteen have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus price target of $141.36.

Global Payments Price Performance

Shares of NYSE GPN opened at $101.02 on Wednesday. The stock has a market cap of $25.79 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.04, a PEG ratio of 0.71 and a beta of 0.98. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68, a quick ratio of 0.92 and a current ratio of 0.92. Global Payments has a fifty-two week low of $91.60 and a fifty-two week high of $141.77. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $105.56 and its 200 day simple moving average is $109.52.

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 the consensus estimate of $2.90 by $0.03. The company had revenue of $2.57 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.32 billion. Global Payments had a return on equity of 11.93% and a net margin of 14.26%. Global Payments’s quarterly revenue was up 4.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $2.48 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Global Payments will post 11.07 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Global Payments Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 27th. Stockholders of record on Friday, September 13th were paid a dividend of $0.25 per share. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.99%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, September 13th. Global Payments’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 19.84%.

Insider Buying and Selling

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 transaction of $166,305.23. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 20,531 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,068,087.63. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 0.98% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Global Payments

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. New Covenant Trust Company N.A. bought a new position in Global Payments in the 1st quarter worth $31,000. LRI Investments LLC purchased a new position in shares of Global Payments in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $32,000. West Paces Advisors Inc. boosted its position in shares of Global Payments by 54.5% during the first 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 in the last quarter. POM Investment Strategies LLC purchased a new stake in Global Payments in the second quarter worth $32,000. Finally, North Star Investment Management Corp. raised its holdings in 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 worth $47,000 after purchasing an additional 215 shares in the last quarter. 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.