Robert W. Baird Increases Mastercard (NYSE:MA) Price Target to $545.00

Mastercard (NYSE:MA) had its price target increased by Robert W. Baird from $525.00 to $545.00 in a research report released on Thursday, Benzinga reports. They currently have an outperform rating on the credit services provider’s stock.

Several other equities research analysts also recently weighed in on MA. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on shares of Mastercard from $504.00 to $520.00 and gave the company an overweight rating in a research note on Monday. Royal Bank of Canada upped their target price on Mastercard from $432.00 to $499.00 and gave the company an outperform rating in a research report on Thursday, February 1st. Susquehanna reissued a positive rating and issued a $535.00 price target on shares of Mastercard in a report on Wednesday, April 3rd. BMO Capital Markets upped their price objective on shares of Mastercard from $480.00 to $490.00 and gave the company an outperform rating in a report on Thursday, February 1st. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on shares of Mastercard from $490.00 to $530.00 and gave the stock an overweight rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 6th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-two have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and an average price target of $490.23.

Mastercard Trading Down 1.3 %

Shares of NYSE:MA opened at $454.39 on Thursday. The company has a market capitalization of $423.90 billion, a PE ratio of 38.41, a P/E/G ratio of 1.75 and a beta of 1.08. The company has a current ratio of 1.17, a quick ratio of 1.17 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.06. Mastercard has a 12-month low of $357.85 and a 12-month high of $490.00. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $471.75 and its 200-day simple moving average is $433.36.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, January 31st. The credit services provider reported $3.18 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.08 by $0.10. The company had revenue of $6.55 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.46 billion. Mastercard had a return on equity of 191.22% and a net margin of 44.60%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $2.65 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Mastercard will post 14.35 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Mastercard Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 9th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, April 9th will be issued a dividend of $0.66 per share. This represents a $2.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.58%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, April 8th. Mastercard’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 22.32%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Mastercard news, insider Ajay Bhalla sold 98 shares of Mastercard stock in a transaction on Monday, January 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $439.52, for a total value of $43,072.96. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 6,235 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,740,407.20. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. In other news, major shareholder Foundation Mastercard sold 200 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $487.25, for a total transaction of $97,450.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 97,543,308 shares in the company, valued at approximately $47,527,976,823. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, insider Ajay Bhalla sold 98 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, January 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $439.52, for a total transaction of $43,072.96. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 6,235 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,740,407.20. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 37,728 shares of company stock valued at $17,739,753. Corporate insiders own 0.13% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Mastercard

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of MA. Activest Wealth Management raised its stake in Mastercard by 87.4% in the 4th quarter. Activest Wealth Management now owns 536 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $229,000 after purchasing an additional 250 shares during the last quarter. Everett Harris & Co. CA grew its stake in Mastercard by 0.5% during the 4th quarter. Everett Harris & Co. CA now owns 49,539 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $21,129,000 after acquiring an additional 252 shares in the last quarter. Atlantic Union Bankshares Corp raised its holdings in Mastercard by 23.9% in the 4th quarter. Atlantic Union Bankshares Corp now owns 12,124 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $5,171,000 after acquiring an additional 2,337 shares during the last quarter. Fortune Financial Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Mastercard by 4.5% in the 4th quarter. Fortune Financial Advisors LLC now owns 7,853 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $3,350,000 after purchasing an additional 339 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Foster Victor Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Mastercard by 1.5% during the 4th quarter. Foster Victor Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 42,752 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $18,041,000 after purchasing an additional 612 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 97.28% of the company’s stock.

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.