Mastercard (MA) to Release Earnings on Wednesday

Mastercard (NYSE:MA) is scheduled to be releasing its earnings data before the market opens on Wednesday, May 1st. Analysts expect Mastercard to post earnings of $3.22 per share for the quarter. Persons interested in participating in the company’s earnings conference call can do so using this link.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 31st. The credit services provider reported $3.18 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.08 by $0.10. Mastercard had a net margin of 44.60% and a return on equity of 191.22%. The company had revenue of $6.55 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.46 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $2.65 EPS. On average, analysts expect Mastercard to post $14 EPS for the current fiscal year and $17 EPS for the next fiscal year.

Mastercard Stock Up 1.3 %

Shares of Mastercard stock opened at $462.62 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.06, a current ratio of 1.17 and a quick ratio of 1.17. Mastercard has a 1 year low of $357.85 and a 1 year high of $490.00. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $471.71 and its two-hundred day moving average is $435.26. The stock has a market cap of $431.57 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 39.11, a PEG ratio of 1.73 and a beta of 1.08.

Mastercard Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 9th. Investors of record on Tuesday, April 9th will be paid a $0.66 dividend. This represents a $2.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.57%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, April 8th. Mastercard’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 22.32%.

Insider Activity

In related news, major shareholder Foundation Mastercard sold 200 shares of Mastercard stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $487.25, for a total value of $97,450.00. Following the sale, the insider now owns 97,543,308 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $47,527,976,823. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. In related news, major shareholder Foundation Mastercard sold 200 shares of Mastercard stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $487.25, for a total value of $97,450.00. Following the sale, the insider now owns 97,543,308 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $47,527,976,823. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Michael Miebach sold 7,851 shares of Mastercard stock in a transaction on Friday, March 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $475.92, for a total transaction of $3,736,447.92. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 47,640 shares in the company, valued at approximately $22,672,828.80. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 257,630 shares of company stock valued at $118,303,470 in the last three months. 0.13% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms recently commented on MA. TD Cowen began coverage on shares of Mastercard in a research note on Thursday, April 11th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $545.00 target price for the company. Oppenheimer reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $510.00 price target on shares of Mastercard in a research report on Thursday, February 1st. William Blair reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of Mastercard in a research report on Wednesday, January 31st. Susquehanna reissued a “positive” rating and set a $535.00 price target on shares of Mastercard in a research report on Wednesday, April 3rd. Finally, Mizuho reissued a “buy” rating and set a $480.00 price target on shares of Mastercard in a research report on Wednesday, March 27th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-two have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $490.23.

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.