Mastercard (NYSE:MA) Price Target Raised to $665.00

Mastercard (NYSE:MA) had its price target increased by Keefe, Bruyette & Woods from $618.00 to $665.00 in a research report sent to investors on Friday morning,Benzinga reports. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods currently has an outperform rating on the credit services provider’s stock.

MA has been the topic of several other research reports. William Blair reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of Mastercard in a research report on Friday. BMO Capital Markets increased their price objective on Mastercard from $550.00 to $565.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 14th. Susquehanna raised their target price on Mastercard from $605.00 to $670.00 and gave the company a “positive” rating in a report on Friday. Oppenheimer lowered their price target on shares of Mastercard from $591.00 to $588.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, December 19th. Finally, Raymond James reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $640.00 price objective (up previously from $614.00) on shares of Mastercard in a research note on Friday. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-three have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $595.64.

Mastercard Price Performance

Shares of NYSE MA opened at $555.63 on Friday. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $528.28 and a 200 day moving average price of $501.43. Mastercard has a 1-year low of $428.86 and a 1-year high of $576.94. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.36, a current ratio of 1.29 and a quick ratio of 1.29. The company has a market cap of $509.97 billion, a PE ratio of 42.03, a P/E/G ratio of 2.17 and a beta of 1.10.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA) last released its earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The credit services provider reported $3.82 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.71 by $0.11. Mastercard had a net margin of 45.26% and a return on equity of 178.27%. Sell-side analysts forecast that Mastercard will post 14.47 EPS for the current year.

Mastercard Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 7th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, January 9th will be given a $0.76 dividend. This represents a $3.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.55%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, January 10th. This is a positive change from Mastercard’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.66. Mastercard’s payout ratio is currently 23.00%.

Mastercard announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a share buyback program on Tuesday, December 17th that permits the company to buyback $12.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization permits the credit services provider to reacquire up to 2.5% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are usually an indication that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Temasek Holdings Private Ltd increased its stake in Mastercard by 2.3% in the third quarter. Temasek Holdings Private Ltd now owns 2,805,554 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $1,385,383,000 after purchasing an additional 62,891 shares during the last quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB grew its holdings in Mastercard by 15.6% in the 4th quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 2,510,756 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $1,325,353,000 after buying an additional 337,905 shares during the period. Cardano Risk Management B.V. increased its stake in shares of Mastercard by 2.7% during the 4th quarter. Cardano Risk Management B.V. now owns 368,690 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $194,141,000 after acquiring an additional 9,611 shares during the last quarter. Sarasin & Partners LLP increased its stake in shares of Mastercard by 4.7% during the 3rd quarter. Sarasin & Partners LLP now owns 831,942 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $410,813,000 after acquiring an additional 37,486 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Mastercard by 2.0% during the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 5,010,430 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $2,474,151,000 after acquiring an additional 100,550 shares during the period. 97.28% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.