StockNews.com Downgrades Global Payments (NYSE:GPN) to Hold

Global Payments (NYSE:GPN) was downgraded by analysts at StockNews.com from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report issued on Wednesday.

A number of other equities analysts have also recently issued reports on GPN. Morgan Stanley raised their target price on Global Payments from $156.00 to $166.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 18th. KeyCorp decreased their price objective on shares of Global Payments from $145.00 to $135.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, September 25th. Barclays lifted their price target on shares of Global Payments from $120.00 to $135.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 17th. Sanford C. Bernstein cut shares of Global Payments from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and lowered their price objective for the company from $135.00 to $112.00 in a research report on Tuesday, October 22nd. Finally, Oppenheimer assumed coverage on Global Payments in a report on Tuesday, October 1st. They set a “market perform” rating on the stock. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have assigned a hold rating and sixteen have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $138.55.

Global Payments Trading Up 1.0 %

Shares of GPN stock traded up $1.17 during trading hours on Wednesday, reaching $112.98. The company had a trading volume of 439,199 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,249,332. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65, a current ratio of 0.93 and a quick ratio of 0.93. Global Payments has a 1-year low of $91.60 and a 1-year high of $141.77. The company has a 50 day moving average of $111.45 and a 200 day moving average of $105.25. The firm has a market cap of $28.75 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.28, a P/E/G ratio of 0.90 and a beta of 1.00.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Robert H. B. Baldwin, Jr. acquired 5,800 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, December 13th. The stock was bought at an average price of $116.00 per share, with a total value of $672,800.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 42,738 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,957,608. The trade was a 15.70 % increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.98% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Global Payments

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC lifted its position in shares of Global Payments by 3.7% in the second quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 13,018 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,259,000 after buying an additional 464 shares during the last quarter. Atomi Financial Group Inc. boosted its position in Global Payments by 17.4% during the second quarter. Atomi Financial Group Inc. now owns 3,572 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $345,000 after purchasing an additional 529 shares during the period. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Global Payments by 10.9% in the second quarter. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. now owns 25,604 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $2,476,000 after purchasing an additional 2,509 shares during the last quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank raised its position in shares of Global Payments by 11.8% in the second quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 102,369 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $9,899,000 after purchasing an additional 10,796 shares during the period. Finally, UMB Bank n.a. lifted its stake in shares of Global Payments by 25.3% during the 2nd quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 1,456 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $141,000 after buying an additional 294 shares during the last quarter. 89.76% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.