Traders Purchase Large Volume of Global Payments Put Options (NYSE:GPN)

Global Payments Inc. (NYSE:GPN) was the target of some unusual options trading on Thursday. Stock traders acquired 7,593 put options on the stock. This is an increase of 112% compared to the average volume of 3,588 put options.

Key Headlines Impacting Global Payments

Here are the key news stories impacting Global Payments this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Management raised FY‑2026 guidance above the Street and slightly beat Q4 EPS, driving optimism about earnings trajectory and margin improvement. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: The board approved a $2.5 billion share-buyback program (with $550M in accelerated repurchases) and declared a quarterly dividend, both of which improve shareholder returns and supported the recent rally. Article Title
• Neutral Sentiment: Analyst responses are mixed: Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised its price target to $90 (market‑perform), while some firms like UBS remain cautious with Hold ratings — signaling limited near‑term upside from broker sentiment alone. Article Title Article Title
• Negative Sentiment: Revenue growth was muted (roughly +1.4% y/y and roughly in line with estimates) and the company noted elevated costs; some coverage frames the quarter as “meet” rather than a clean beat, leaving valuation and margin execution in focus. Article Title
• Negative Sentiment: After the outsized two-day rally (double-digit gains), the stock is experiencing a pullback likely driven by profit‑taking and short‑term rotation; investors should watch execution on Worldpay integration and whether buybacks materially offset dilution/earnings volatility. No link

Insider Activity at Global Payments

In other news, EVP David M. Sheffield sold 2,016 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, December 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $81.41, for a total value of $164,122.56. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 14,438 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,175,397.58. This represents a 12.25% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider David Lawrence Green sold 11,600 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, December 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $79.99, for a total transaction of $927,884.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 68,096 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,446,999.04. This represents a 14.56% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. 1.01% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Global Payments

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Thomasville National Bank grew its position in Global Payments by 0.7% in the 3rd quarter. Thomasville National Bank now owns 17,848 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $1,483,000 after purchasing an additional 125 shares during the last quarter. Traynor Capital Management Inc. boosted its position in Global Payments by 3.5% during the 4th quarter. Traynor Capital Management Inc. now owns 4,221 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $327,000 after acquiring an additional 141 shares during the period. Deseret Mutual Benefit Administrators grew its stake in shares of Global Payments by 23.4% in the third quarter. Deseret Mutual Benefit Administrators now owns 802 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $67,000 after purchasing an additional 152 shares in the last quarter. Swedbank AB raised its stake in shares of Global Payments by 0.3% during the third quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 51,177 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $4,252,000 after purchasing an additional 154 shares in the last quarter. Finally, BI Asset Management Fondsmaeglerselskab A S lifted its holdings in Global Payments by 1.6% in the fourth quarter. BI Asset Management Fondsmaeglerselskab A S now owns 10,260 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $794,000 after purchasing an additional 163 shares during the period. 89.76% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Global Payments Stock Performance

Shares of Global Payments stock traded down $1.25 during trading hours on Thursday, reaching $80.01. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 1,190,454 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,640,548. Global Payments has a one year low of $65.93 and a one year high of $106.90. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $76.05 and its 200 day simple moving average is $80.41. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.57, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a current ratio of 0.85. The stock has a market cap of $18.94 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.20, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.46 and a beta of 0.76.

Global Payments (NYSE:GPN) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, February 18th. The business services provider reported $3.18 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.16 by $0.02. The firm had revenue of $2.32 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.32 billion. Global Payments had a net margin of 19.68% and a return on equity of 12.66%. Global Payments’s revenue was up 1.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $2.85 earnings per share. Global Payments has set its FY 2026 guidance at 13.800-14.000 EPS. As a group, analysts expect that Global Payments will post 11.89 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Global Payments Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 30th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 9th will be paid a $0.25 dividend. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.2%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 9th. Global Payments’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 14.04%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

GPN has been the subject of several recent research reports. Royal Bank Of Canada reiterated a “sector perform” rating on shares of Global Payments in a report on Thursday. Stephens lowered their target price on Global Payments from $95.00 to $90.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, January 16th. UBS Group reissued a “neutral” rating and set a $87.00 price target on shares of Global Payments in a research report on Thursday. Evercore reduced their target price on shares of Global Payments from $90.00 to $85.00 in a research report on Tuesday, November 11th. Finally, Zacks Research raised Global Payments to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 18th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have assigned a Buy rating, fifteen have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Global Payments currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $91.80.

About Global Payments

Global Payments Inc (NYSE: GPN) is a worldwide provider of payment technology and software solutions that enables commerce for merchants, issuers and enterprises. The company develops and operates payment processing networks, point-of-sale systems and cloud-based software that facilitate electronic transactions across in-store, online and mobile channels. Its services span merchant acquiring, payment gateway services, omnichannel commerce platforms, and solutions for recurring and subscription billing.

Global Payments offers a range of products and services including integrated payment terminals and point-of-sale software, e-commerce and gateway technologies, fraud prevention and tokenization tools, and business analytics and reporting.