Mastercard (NYSE:MA) Trading 0.2% Higher After Analyst Upgrade

Shares of Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) traded up 0.2% during mid-day trading on Wednesday after Robert W. Baird raised their price target on the stock from $545.00 to $575.00. Robert W. Baird currently has an outperform rating on the stock. Mastercard traded as high as $508.92 and last traded at $508.18. 520,013 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 79% from the average session volume of 2,430,974 shares. The stock had previously closed at $507.23.

Several other equities analysts also recently issued reports on the stock. KeyCorp raised their price target on shares of Mastercard from $490.00 to $515.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 1st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on shares of Mastercard from $500.00 to $570.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 20th. TD Cowen increased their price objective on shares of Mastercard from $532.00 to $533.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 1st. Royal Bank of Canada increased their price objective on shares of Mastercard from $500.00 to $526.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 1st. Finally, Piper Sandler increased their price objective on shares of Mastercard from $531.00 to $536.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, August 2nd. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eighteen have given a buy rating and three have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $524.64.

Insider Transactions at Mastercard

In other news, CMO Venkata R. Madabhushi sold 4,685 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, September 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $489.86, for a total value of $2,294,994.10. Following the completion of the sale, the chief marketing officer now owns 15,031 shares in the company, valued at $7,363,085.66. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. In other news, CMO Venkata R. Madabhushi sold 4,685 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, September 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $489.86, for a total value of $2,294,994.10. Following the completion of the sale, the chief marketing officer now owns 15,031 shares in the company, valued at $7,363,085.66. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, major shareholder Foundation Mastercard sold 119,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $468.46, for a total transaction of $55,746,740.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 92,033,308 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $43,113,923,465.68. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 340,809 shares of company stock worth $159,610,703 in the last quarter. 0.10% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Mastercard

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. McLean Asset Management Corp grew its position in Mastercard by 1.3% during the third quarter. McLean Asset Management Corp now owns 1,677 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $834,000 after buying an additional 21 shares during the period. Hoxton Planning & Management LLC boosted its position in Mastercard by 1.4% during the first quarter. Hoxton Planning & Management LLC now owns 1,637 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $788,000 after purchasing an additional 22 shares during the period. Quilter Plc boosted its position in Mastercard by 2.8% during the second quarter. Quilter Plc now owns 801 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $353,000 after purchasing an additional 22 shares during the period. Cornerstone Wealth Management LLC boosted its position in Mastercard by 0.5% during the third quarter. Cornerstone Wealth Management LLC now owns 4,351 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $2,148,000 after purchasing an additional 22 shares during the period. Finally, Benin Management CORP boosted its position in Mastercard by 3.0% during the first quarter. Benin Management CORP now owns 794 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $382,000 after purchasing an additional 23 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 97.28% of the company’s stock.

Mastercard Price Performance

The company has a quick ratio of 1.14, a current ratio of 1.14 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.95. The stock has a market cap of $477.89 billion, a P/E ratio of 40.86, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.22 and a beta of 1.10. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $484.54 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $463.60.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, July 31st. The credit services provider reported $3.59 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.51 by $0.08. The firm had revenue of $6.96 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.85 billion. Mastercard had a net margin of 46.45% and a return on equity of 179.78%. Sell-side analysts expect that Mastercard Incorporated will post 14.3 EPS for the current year.

Mastercard Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 8th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, October 9th will be given a dividend of $0.66 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, October 9th. This represents a $2.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.51%. Mastercard’s dividend payout ratio is presently 20.99%.

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.