Global Payments (NYSE:GPN) Upgraded at Wells Fargo & Company

Wells Fargo & Company upgraded shares of Global Payments (NYSE:GPN) to a strong-buy rating in a research note issued to investors on Wednesday morning,Zacks.com reports.

Other equities analysts have also recently issued reports about the company. UBS Group lifted their price target on Global Payments from $85.00 to $93.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 7th. TD Cowen lowered Global Payments from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 21st. Citigroup initiated coverage on Global Payments in a research note on Wednesday. They set a “buy” rating and a $110.00 price objective for the company. Royal Bank Of Canada lifted their price objective on Global Payments from $86.00 to $93.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 7th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c-)” rating on shares of Global Payments in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have assigned a Buy rating and fourteen have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $103.37.

Global Payments Stock Performance

NYSE:GPN opened at $87.42 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.61, a current ratio of 0.95 and a quick ratio of 0.95. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $86.53 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $81.89. Global Payments has a 1 year low of $65.93 and a 1 year high of $120.00. The company has a market capitalization of $21.21 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.28, a P/E/G ratio of 0.84 and a beta of 0.98.

Global Payments (NYSE:GPN) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, August 6th. The business services provider reported $3.10 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.06 by $0.04. The business had revenue of $2.36 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.36 billion. Global Payments had a return on equity of 12.47% and a net margin of 15.07%.The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business posted $2.93 earnings per share. On average, analysts expect that Global Payments will post 11.89 earnings per share for the current year.

Global Payments Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 26th. Shareholders of record on Friday, September 12th were paid a dividend of $0.25 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, September 12th. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.1%. Global Payments’s payout ratio is 17.48%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Global Payments

In other news, General Counsel Dara L. Steele-Belkin sold 2,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $86.00, for a total value of $172,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the general counsel owned 30,713 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,641,318. The trade was a 6.11% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Company insiders own 1.01% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Global Payments

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. North Star Investment Management Corp. lifted its stake in shares of Global Payments by 242.2% in the 3rd quarter. North Star Investment Management Corp. now owns 308 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $26,000 after acquiring an additional 218 shares during the last quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC increased its holdings in Global Payments by 546.6% during the 1st quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 375 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $37,000 after purchasing an additional 317 shares during the period. Zions Bancorporation National Association UT purchased a new position in Global Payments during the 1st quarter valued at about $37,000. LRI Investments LLC increased its holdings in Global Payments by 53.4% during the 2nd quarter. LRI Investments LLC now owns 382 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $31,000 after purchasing an additional 133 shares during the period. Finally, Quarry LP purchased a new position in Global Payments during the 1st quarter valued at about $42,000. 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.