Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) Receives Consensus Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from Brokerages

Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) has been given an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by the twenty-eight ratings firms that are presently covering the company, MarketBeat reports. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-one have assigned a buy rating and three have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. The average 1-year price target among analysts that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $549.16.

MA has been the topic of several research analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their target price on shares of Mastercard from $593.00 to $580.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, November 1st. BNP Paribas cut shares of Mastercard from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $470.00 target price on the stock. in a research note on Tuesday, September 3rd. Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on shares of Mastercard from $544.00 to $564.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday. Compass Point initiated coverage on shares of Mastercard in a research note on Wednesday, September 4th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $525.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, BMO Capital Markets lifted their price objective on shares of Mastercard from $550.00 to $565.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday.

Insider Buying and Selling at Mastercard

In other Mastercard news, CMO Venkata R. Madabhushi sold 4,685 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, September 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $493.10, for a total transaction of $2,310,173.50. Following the transaction, the chief marketing officer now directly owns 17,118 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,440,885.80. This represents a 21.49 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, major shareholder Foundation Mastercard sold 90,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $468.80, for a total value of $42,192,000.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 91,649,308 shares in the company, valued at $42,965,195,590.40. The trade was a 0.10 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 208,370 shares of company stock valued at $97,749,218 in the last quarter. 0.10% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Mastercard

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Highline Wealth Partners LLC purchased a new position in Mastercard in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $25,000. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL bought a new stake in shares of Mastercard during the second quarter valued at approximately $34,000. Fairway Wealth LLC bought a new stake in shares of Mastercard during the second quarter valued at approximately $35,000. First Personal Financial Services bought a new stake in shares of Mastercard during the third quarter valued at approximately $39,000. Finally, Lowe Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Mastercard by 74.0% during the third quarter. Lowe Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 87 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $43,000 after purchasing an additional 37 shares in the last quarter. 97.28% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Mastercard Trading Up 0.3 %

Shares of NYSE:MA opened at $521.89 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $479.01 billion, a PE ratio of 39.48, a P/E/G ratio of 2.28 and a beta of 1.10. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $503.18 and its 200 day moving average price is $470.59. Mastercard has a fifty-two week low of $395.55 and a fifty-two week high of $534.03. The company has a quick ratio of 1.29, a current ratio of 1.29 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.36.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA) last released its earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The credit services provider reported $3.89 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.73 by $0.16. The firm had revenue of $7.37 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $7.27 billion. Mastercard had a net margin of 45.26% and a return on equity of 178.27%. Mastercard’s quarterly revenue was up 12.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $3.39 EPS. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Mastercard will post 14.45 earnings per share for the current year.

Mastercard Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 8th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, October 9th were issued a $0.66 dividend. This represents a $2.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.51%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, October 9th. Mastercard’s payout ratio is presently 19.97%.

Mastercard Company Profile

Mastercard Incorporated, a technology company, provides transaction processing and other payment-related products and services in the United States and internationally. The company offers integrated products and value-added services for account holders, merchants, financial institutions, digital partners, businesses, governments, and other organizations, such as programs that enable issuers to provide consumers with credits to defer payments; payment products and solutions that allow its customers to access funds in deposit and other accounts; prepaid programs services; and commercial credit, debit, and prepaid payment products and solutions.