Global Payments (NYSE:GPN) Upgraded at StockNews.com

StockNews.com upgraded shares of Global Payments (NYSE:GPN) from a hold rating to a buy rating in a research note released on Thursday.

A number of other research firms have also weighed in on GPN. Monness Crespi & Hardt cut their price objective 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. BNP Paribas raised shares of Global Payments to a “strong sell” rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 4th. William Blair lowered Global Payments from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 25th. Seaport Res Ptn downgraded shares of Global Payments from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 24th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group reduced their target price on shares of Global Payments from $130.00 to $120.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, October 16th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating and seventeen have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $137.41.

Global Payments Stock Down 1.1 %

NYSE:GPN opened at $114.21 on Thursday. The company has a 50-day moving average of $109.75 and a 200 day moving average of $104.56. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65, a current ratio of 0.93 and a quick ratio of 0.93. The firm has a market cap of $29.07 billion, a PE ratio of 21.51, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.90 and a beta of 1.00. Global Payments has a 1-year low of $91.60 and a 1-year high of $141.77.

Global Payments Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 27th. Investors of record on Friday, December 13th will be issued a dividend of $0.25 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, December 13th. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.88%. Global Payments’s dividend payout ratio is currently 18.83%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Tidal Investments LLC increased its stake in shares of Global Payments by 0.3% during the 3rd quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 26,946 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $2,760,000 after acquiring an additional 86 shares during the last quarter. SYM FINANCIAL Corp boosted its holdings in shares of Global Payments by 4.1% in the 3rd quarter. SYM FINANCIAL Corp now owns 2,440 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $250,000 after purchasing an additional 97 shares during the last quarter. Allen Mooney & Barnes Investment Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Global Payments by 1.2% during the 3rd quarter. Allen Mooney & Barnes Investment Advisors LLC now owns 8,210 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $841,000 after buying an additional 98 shares during the period. Deseret Mutual Benefit Administrators increased its holdings in shares of Global Payments by 27.2% during the 3rd quarter. Deseret Mutual Benefit Administrators now owns 543 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $56,000 after buying an additional 116 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Metis Global Partners LLC raised its position in shares of Global Payments by 1.4% in the 3rd quarter. Metis Global Partners LLC now owns 8,257 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $846,000 after buying an additional 116 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 89.76% of the company’s stock.

About Global Payments

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.