Global Payments (NYSE:GPN) Price Target Lowered to $135.00 at Citigroup

Global Payments (NYSE:GPN) had its target price lowered by investment analysts at Citigroup from $138.00 to $135.00 in a research report issued to clients and investors on Tuesday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has a “buy” rating on the business services provider’s stock. Citigroup’s price objective would suggest a potential upside of 26.17% from the company’s previous close.

Several other analysts have also recently issued reports on the stock. Morgan Stanley decreased their target price on shares of Global Payments from $166.00 to $163.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday. Bank of America decreased their target price on shares of Global Payments from $156.00 to $149.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday. Stephens cut shares of Global Payments from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and decreased their target price for the company from $125.00 to $120.00 in a research report on Friday, January 10th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their target price on shares of Global Payments from $118.00 to $115.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, October 29th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein cut shares of Global Payments from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and decreased their target price for the company from $135.00 to $112.00 in a research report on Tuesday, October 22nd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have issued a hold rating and fifteen have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Global Payments presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $134.33.

Global Payments Price Performance

Shares of GPN traded up $1.37 during midday trading on Tuesday, hitting $107.00. 2,640,259 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,682,556. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $110.75 and a 200-day moving average of $108.70. Global Payments has a 52 week low of $91.60 and a 52 week high of $140.38. The stock has a market cap of $27.23 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.15, a PEG ratio of 0.80 and a beta of 1.01. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65, a quick ratio of 0.93 and a current ratio of 0.93.

Global Payments (NYSE:GPN) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 13th. The business services provider reported $2.84 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.98 by ($0.14). Global Payments had a net margin of 13.61% and a return on equity of 11.94%. The company had revenue of $2.29 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.31 billion. On average, analysts forecast that Global Payments will post 11 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Global Payments

In other Global Payments news, Director Robert H. B. Baldwin, Jr. acquired 5,800 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, December 13th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $116.00 per share, for a total transaction of $672,800.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now owns 42,738 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,957,608. This trade represents a 15.70 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Corporate insiders own 0.98% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Global Payments

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. BIP Alliance LLC bought a new position in shares of Global Payments during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $3,306,000. Vise Technologies Inc. bought a new position in shares of Global Payments during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $409,000. MidWestOne Financial Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Global Payments by 5.5% during the fourth quarter. MidWestOne Financial Group Inc. now owns 26,544 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $2,975,000 after purchasing an additional 1,375 shares in the last quarter. Focus Partners Advisor Solutions LLC boosted its stake in shares of Global Payments by 99.0% during the fourth quarter. Focus Partners Advisor Solutions LLC now owns 4,161 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $466,000 after purchasing an additional 2,070 shares in the last quarter. Finally, UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC boosted its stake in shares of Global Payments by 40.8% during the fourth quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 1,656,830 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $185,664,000 after purchasing an additional 479,791 shares in the last quarter. 89.76% of the stock is currently owned by 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.