Morgan Stanley Has Lowered Expectations for Shift4 Payments (NYSE:FOUR) Stock Price

Key Points

• Morgan Stanley has lowered its target price for Shift4 Payments (NYSE: FOUR) from $100.00 to $92.00, maintaining an "equal weight" rating, indicating a potential upside of 10.92% from the current price.
• While six analysts rated the stock as a hold, fourteen have given it a buy rating and two rated it as a strong buy, with an average target price of $114.40.
• Insiders at Shift4 Payments have recently sold a total of 13,757 shares worth over $1.25 million, indicating a possible lack of confidence in the stock's immediate future.

Shift4 Payments (NYSE:FOUR - Free Report) had its price target cut by Morgan Stanley from $100.00 to $92.00 in a research note published on Wednesday,Benzinga reports. They currently have an equal weight rating on the stock.

Several other equities research analysts have also recently weighed in on the stock. Evercore ISI started coverage on shares of Shift4 Payments in a research report on Wednesday, April 9th. They set an "in-line" rating and a $80.00 price objective for the company. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Shift4 Payments from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday, May 22nd. Susquehanna increased their price target on Shift4 Payments from $100.00 to $125.00 and gave the company a "positive" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 30th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft assumed coverage on shares of Shift4 Payments in a research report on Thursday, July 17th. They set a "buy" rating and a $120.00 target price on the stock. Finally, BTIG Research restated a "buy" rating on shares of Shift4 Payments in a report on Tuesday, August 5th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fourteen have given a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $114.40.

Shift4 Payments Stock Performance

Shift4 Payments stock traded down $1.64 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, hitting $81.68. 2,382,975 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,071,702. The stock has a market cap of $7.24 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.77, a P/E/G ratio of 0.79 and a beta of 1.81. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $98.15 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $94.76. Shift4 Payments has a fifty-two week low of $68.09 and a fifty-two week high of $127.50. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.99, a current ratio of 2.53 and a quick ratio of 2.53.

Shift4 Payments (NYSE:FOUR - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, August 5th. The company reported $1.10 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.20 by ($0.10). The firm had revenue of $413.40 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $967.84 million. Shift4 Payments had a net margin of 6.11% and a return on equity of 37.05%. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 28.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.96 earnings per share. On average, research analysts expect that Shift4 Payments will post 3.7 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Shift4 Payments

In other news, Director Karen Roter Davis sold 2,757 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, June 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $94.53, for a total value of $260,619.21. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 6,592 shares of the company's stock, valued at $623,141.76. This represents a 29.49% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Nancy Disman sold 10,000 shares of Shift4 Payments stock in a transaction on Monday, June 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $90.33, for a total transaction of $903,300.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 167,622 shares in the company, valued at $15,141,295.26. This represents a 5.63% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 13,757 shares of company stock worth $1,258,449. Insiders own 25.15% of the company's stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Shift4 Payments

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. SG Americas Securities LLC grew its holdings in shares of Shift4 Payments by 253.0% in the first quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 11,705 shares of the company's stock valued at $956,000 after acquiring an additional 8,389 shares in the last quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp grew its stake in Shift4 Payments by 4.1% in the 1st quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 4,646 shares of the company's stock valued at $380,000 after purchasing an additional 181 shares during the period. Cerity Partners LLC increased its position in shares of Shift4 Payments by 35.7% during the 4th quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 4,629 shares of the company's stock valued at $480,000 after purchasing an additional 1,218 shares during the last quarter. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. increased its holdings in Shift4 Payments by 54.7% during the first quarter. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. now owns 1,199 shares of the company's stock worth $98,000 after buying an additional 424 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Shift4 Payments by 5.6% in the 1st quarter. Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. now owns 3,641 shares of the company's stock worth $298,000 after purchasing an additional 194 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 98.87% of the company's stock.

Shift4 Payments Company Profile

Shift4 Payments, Inc (NYSE FOUR) provides integrated payment processing and technology solutions in the United States. Its payments platform provides omni-channel card acceptance and processing solutions, including end-to-end payment processing for various payment types; merchant acquiring; proprietary omni-channel gateway; complementary software integrations; integrated and mobile point-of-sale (POS) solutions; security and risk management solutions; and reporting and analytical tools, as well as tokenization, risk management/underwriting, payment device and chargeback management, fraud prevention, and gift card solutions.