Morgan Stanley Forecasts Strong Price Appreciation for Global Payments (NYSE:GPN) Stock

Global Payments (NYSE:GPN) had its price objective raised by stock analysts at Morgan Stanley from $156.00 to $166.00 in a research note issued to investors on Wednesday,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has an “overweight” rating on the business services provider’s stock. Morgan Stanley’s price target would indicate a potential upside of 44.73% from the company’s current price.

Other equities analysts also recently issued research reports about the stock. Jefferies Financial Group lowered their price target on shares of Global Payments from $130.00 to $120.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, October 16th. Susquehanna restated a “positive” rating and set a $147.00 target price on shares of Global Payments in a research note on Tuesday, September 17th. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price target on Global Payments from $135.00 to $155.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, December 2nd. Oppenheimer started coverage on Global Payments in a report on Tuesday, October 1st. They set a “market perform” rating on the stock. Finally, B. Riley cut their target price on Global Payments from $204.00 to $194.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, September 25th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating and seventeen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $138.55.

Global Payments Stock Up 0.6 %

NYSE GPN opened at $114.70 on Wednesday. Global Payments has a 52 week low of $91.60 and a 52 week high of $141.77. 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 company has a market capitalization of $29.19 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.60, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.90 and a beta of 1.00. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $110.39 and its 200-day moving average price is $104.77.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Global Payments news, Director Robert H. B. Baldwin, Jr. bought 5,800 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, December 13th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $116.00 per share, with a total value of $672,800.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now owns 42,738 shares in the company, valued at $4,957,608. This represents a 15.70 % increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. 0.98% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Global Payments

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Stanley Capital Management LLC grew its stake in Global Payments by 18.9% in the 2nd quarter. Stanley Capital Management LLC now owns 125,608 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $12,146,000 after acquiring an additional 20,000 shares in the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA boosted its holdings in shares of Global Payments by 65.6% in the third 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 purchasing an additional 785,539 shares during the period. Entropy Technologies LP bought a new position in Global Payments in the third quarter worth approximately $562,000. Poplar Forest Capital LLC purchased a new position in Global Payments during the 3rd quarter worth $13,184,000. Finally, River Road Asset Management LLC raised its position in Global Payments by 158.6% during the 3rd quarter. River Road Asset Management LLC now owns 491,331 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $50,322,000 after purchasing an additional 301,358 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other 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.