Morgan Stanley Increases Global Payments (NYSE:GPN) Price Target to $164.00

Global Payments (NYSE:GPN) had its price target lifted by Morgan Stanley from $160.00 to $164.00 in a research report sent to investors on Thursday, Benzinga reports. They currently have an overweight rating on the business services provider’s stock.

Several other research analysts have also commented on GPN. Wedbush lifted their price objective on shares of Global Payments from $130.00 to $160.00 and gave the stock an outperform rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 10th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on shares of Global Payments from $145.00 to $159.00 and gave the company a neutral rating in a report on Thursday, February 15th. UBS Group raised their price objective on shares of Global Payments from $130.00 to $145.00 and gave the stock a neutral rating in a research note on Thursday, February 15th. Mizuho reaffirmed a neutral rating and set a $129.00 target price on shares of Global Payments in a research note on Wednesday, March 27th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets decreased their price target on Global Payments from $143.00 to $128.00 and set a market perform rating for the company in a research note on Thursday. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and twenty-one have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and an average target price of $150.00.

Global Payments Trading Up 0.8 %

GPN stock opened at $111.37 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68, a current ratio of 0.92 and a quick ratio of 0.99. Global Payments has a 1-year low of $95.12 and a 1-year high of $141.77. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $127.50 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $124.82. The company has a market capitalization of $28.43 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.10, a PEG ratio of 0.72 and a beta of 0.97.

Global Payments (NYSE:GPN) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, February 14th. The business services provider reported $2.65 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.64 by $0.01. The firm had revenue of $2.43 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.18 billion. Global Payments had a net margin of 13.40% and a return on equity of 11.72%. Global Payments’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $2.30 earnings per share. Research analysts anticipate that Global Payments will post 10.95 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Global Payments Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 28th. Investors of record on Friday, June 14th will be given a $0.25 dividend. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.90%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 14th. Global Payments’s payout ratio is 19.84%.

Institutional Trading of Global Payments

Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Livforsakringsbolaget Skandia Omsesidigt increased its holdings in shares of Global Payments by 70.4% during the 4th quarter. Livforsakringsbolaget Skandia Omsesidigt now owns 564 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $72,000 after buying an additional 233 shares during the last quarter. Waverly Advisors LLC raised its position in Global Payments by 60.5% in the third quarter. Waverly Advisors LLC now owns 19,593 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $2,261,000 after purchasing an additional 7,387 shares during the period. Shaker Investments LLC OH purchased a new position in shares of Global Payments during the 4th quarter worth $1,815,000. AFS Financial Group LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Global Payments during the 4th quarter worth about $202,000. Finally, Sigma Investment Counselors Inc. raised its holdings in Global Payments by 1.4% in the 4th quarter. Sigma Investment Counselors Inc. now owns 19,519 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $2,479,000 after buying an additional 275 shares during the period. 89.76% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.