Global Payments (NYSE:GPN) Upgraded to Buy at StockNews.com

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

Other equities research analysts also recently issued research reports about the stock. B. Riley reduced their target price on shares of Global Payments from $204.00 to $194.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, September 25th. BMO Capital Markets reduced their target price on shares of Global Payments from $126.00 to $122.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, September 25th. BTIG Research downgraded shares of Global Payments from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 25th. Seaport Res Ptn downgraded shares of Global Payments from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 24th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reduced their price target on shares of Global Payments from $143.00 to $130.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a hold rating and sixteen have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Global Payments currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $136.50.

Global Payments Price Performance

Global Payments stock traded up $0.95 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, reaching $116.36. 2,742,039 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,302,087. Global Payments has a 12-month low of $91.60 and a 12-month high of $141.77. The company has a market cap of $29.61 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.91, a PEG ratio of 0.85 and a beta of 0.97. The company has a quick ratio of 0.93, a current ratio of 0.93 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $104.69 and a two-hundred day moving average of $103.40.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Global Payments

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of GPN. Pzena Investment Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Global Payments by 194.2% during the 2nd quarter. Pzena Investment Management LLC now owns 6,423,463 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $621,149,000 after purchasing an additional 4,240,388 shares in the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA grew its stake in Global Payments by 65.6% in the 3rd quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 1,982,496 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $203,047,000 after acquiring an additional 785,539 shares during the period. AQR Capital Management LLC boosted its position in Global Payments by 188.1% during the second quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 1,157,728 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $109,857,000 after acquiring an additional 755,898 shares during the last quarter. Natixis boosted its position in Global Payments by 830.2% during the first quarter. Natixis now owns 589,520 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $78,795,000 after acquiring an additional 526,143 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Lord Abbett & CO. LLC boosted its position in Global Payments by 267.0% during the first quarter. Lord Abbett & CO. LLC now owns 677,854 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $90,602,000 after acquiring an additional 493,164 shares during the last quarter. 89.76% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.