Analysts Set Global Payments Inc. (NYSE:GPN) Price Target at $134.33

Shares of Global Payments Inc. (NYSE:GPN) have earned an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the twenty-six research firms that are covering the firm, MarketBeat.com reports. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, eleven have issued a hold recommendation and fourteen have issued a buy recommendation on the company. The average 12-month price objective among brokerages that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $134.33.

Several analysts recently issued reports on GPN shares. Morgan Stanley cut their target price on Global Payments from $166.00 to $163.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, February 14th. Citigroup cut their price objective on Global Payments from $138.00 to $135.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, February 18th. Barclays decreased their target price on Global Payments from $135.00 to $125.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, February 18th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Global Payments from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group restated a “neutral” rating and issued a $122.00 price objective (down from $155.00) on shares of Global Payments in a report on Thursday, January 9th.

Global Payments Stock Performance

NYSE:GPN opened at $99.47 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66, a quick ratio of 0.93 and a current ratio of 0.97. Global Payments has a fifty-two week low of $90.99 and a fifty-two week high of $133.89. The firm has a market cap of $24.46 billion, a PE ratio of 16.10, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.86 and a beta of 1.04. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $103.93 and a 200-day moving average price of $107.44.

Global Payments (NYSE:GPN) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The business services provider reported $2.84 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.98 by ($0.14). Global Payments had a net margin of 15.54% and a return on equity of 12.21%. The firm had revenue of $2.29 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.31 billion. Equities research analysts predict that Global Payments will post 11.89 earnings per share for the current year.

Global Payments Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 28th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be paid a $0.25 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 14th. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.01%. Global Payments’s dividend payout ratio is currently 16.18%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Global Payments

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC grew its holdings in shares of Global Payments by 121.3% during the fourth quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 41,816 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $4,686,000 after buying an additional 22,920 shares during the last quarter. Lansforsakringar Fondforvaltning AB publ bought a new position in Global Payments in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $9,548,000. Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH purchased a new stake in Global Payments during the 4th quarter valued at $20,503,000. Capital A Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Global Payments in the 4th quarter worth $303,000. Finally, Aurdan Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Global Payments in the fourth quarter worth $3,050,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 89.76% of the company’s stock.

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.