Mastercard (NYSE:MA) Sets New 12-Month High After Analyst Upgrade

Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA)’s share price reached a new 52-week high on Monday after Piper Sandler raised their price target on the stock from $575.00 to $591.00. Piper Sandler currently has an overweight rating on the stock. Mastercard traded as high as $538.21 and last traded at $539.39, with a volume of 613067 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $533.49.

MA has been the subject of a number of other reports. BMO Capital Markets boosted their target price on shares of Mastercard from $550.00 to $565.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, November 14th. Macquarie increased their target price on shares of Mastercard from $505.00 to $565.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, November 1st. Susquehanna upped their price target on Mastercard from $540.00 to $605.00 and gave the stock a “positive” rating in a research report on Friday, November 1st. Royal Bank of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $572.00 price objective on shares of Mastercard in a research report on Thursday, November 14th. Finally, Robert W. Baird upped their target price on Mastercard from $545.00 to $575.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 16th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-two have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $567.29.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Mastercard

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Highline Wealth Partners LLC acquired a new position in Mastercard in the 3rd quarter valued at about $25,000. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL acquired a new position in Mastercard in the second quarter valued at approximately $34,000. First Personal Financial Services purchased a new position in Mastercard in the third quarter worth approximately $39,000. Lowe Wealth Advisors LLC increased its stake in Mastercard by 74.0% during the third quarter. Lowe Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 87 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $43,000 after acquiring an additional 37 shares during the last quarter. Finally, FSA Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in Mastercard in the third quarter valued at $54,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 97.28% of the company’s stock.

Mastercard Trading Up 2.6 %

The firm has a market cap of $502.53 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 41.42, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.10 and a beta of 1.10. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.36, a quick ratio of 1.29 and a current ratio of 1.29. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $524.77 and a 200 day moving average price of $497.91.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The credit services provider reported $3.89 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.73 by $0.16. The company 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 revenue for the quarter was up 12.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $3.39 earnings per share. On average, research analysts expect that Mastercard Incorporated will post 14.47 earnings per share for the current year.

Mastercard Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 7th. Investors of record on Thursday, January 9th will be paid a dividend of $0.76 per share. This is a positive change from Mastercard’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.66. The ex-dividend date is Friday, January 10th. This represents a $3.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.56%. Mastercard’s dividend payout ratio is presently 23.00%.

Mastercard announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock repurchase program on Tuesday, December 17th that allows the company to buyback $12.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the credit services provider to purchase up to 2.5% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are generally an indication that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

About Mastercard

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.