Investors Buy High Volume of Call Options on Global Payments (NYSE:GPN)

Global Payments Inc. (NYSE:GPN) was the target of unusually large options trading activity on Friday. Traders purchased 4,666 call options on the stock. This represents an increase of 76% compared to the typical daily volume of 2,645 call options.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have recently commented on GPN. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price target on shares of Global Payments from $130.00 to $140.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, December 9th. Stephens cut Global Payments from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and reduced their target price for the stock from $125.00 to $120.00 in a research report on Friday, January 10th. StockNews.com raised Global Payments from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. The Goldman Sachs Group reissued a “neutral” rating and set a $122.00 price objective (down previously from $155.00) on shares of Global Payments in a report on Thursday, January 9th. Finally, Morgan Stanley lowered 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 note on Friday, February 14th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have issued a hold rating and fifteen have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Global Payments presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $134.33.

Global Payments Trading Down 1.9 %

Shares of Global Payments stock traded down $1.92 on Friday, hitting $97.55. The stock had a trading volume of 1,830,084 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,148,215. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $103.72 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $107.35. Global Payments has a one year low of $90.99 and a one year high of $133.63. The company has a quick ratio of 0.93, a current ratio of 0.97 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66. The stock has a market cap of $23.99 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.79, a PEG ratio of 0.86 and a beta of 1.04.

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

Global Payments Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 28th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 14th were issued a $0.25 dividend. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.03%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 14th. Global Payments’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 16.18%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Global Payments

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Beaird Harris Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in Global Payments during the 3rd quarter valued at $25,000. Optiver Holding B.V. bought a new stake in shares of Global Payments during the 4th quarter valued at about $28,000. Whipplewood Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Global Payments during the fourth quarter valued at about $37,000. Quintet Private Bank Europe S.A. bought a new position in Global Payments in the fourth quarter worth about $38,000. Finally, True Wealth Design LLC bought a new stake in Global Payments during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $40,000. 89.76% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.