Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) Receives Consensus Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from Analysts

Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) has been assigned an average rating of “Moderate Buy” from the twenty-four brokerages that are covering the stock, Marketbeat reports. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-one have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating on the company. The average 1 year price target among brokers that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $493.55.

A number of equities analysts recently commented on MA shares. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their target price on shares of Mastercard from $433.00 to $482.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 11th. BMO Capital Markets increased their price target on shares of Mastercard from $480.00 to $490.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 1st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price objective on shares of Mastercard from $520.00 to $510.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday. Susquehanna reissued a “positive” rating and issued a $535.00 price target on shares of Mastercard in a research report on Wednesday, April 3rd. Finally, William Blair reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of Mastercard in a report on Wednesday, January 31st.

Insider Activity

In other Mastercard news, CEO Michael Miebach sold 7,851 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 47,640 shares in the company, valued at approximately $22,672,828.80. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other news, CEO Michael Miebach sold 7,851 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $475.92, for a total value of $3,736,447.92. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 47,640 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $22,672,828.80. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CMO Venkata R. Madabhushi sold 16,037 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $475.94, for a total transaction of $7,632,649.78. Following the sale, the chief marketing officer now owns 12,255 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,832,644.70. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 583,088 shares of company stock worth $266,873,978 in the last 90 days. 0.13% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Mastercard

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in MA. Altshuler Shaham Ltd bought a new stake in shares of Mastercard in the fourth quarter worth $26,000. VitalStone Financial LLC increased its position in Mastercard by 300.0% in the fourth quarter. VitalStone Financial LLC now owns 60 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $26,000 after buying an additional 45 shares during the period. LFA Lugano Financial Advisors SA acquired a new position in Mastercard during the 4th quarter valued at about $27,000. Westend Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Mastercard during the first quarter worth approximately $27,000. Finally, Palisade Asset Management LLC bought a new position in Mastercard in the 1st quarter worth approximately $27,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 97.28% of the company’s stock.

Mastercard Stock Up 0.6 %

Mastercard stock opened at $443.58 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.86, a quick ratio of 1.17 and a current ratio of 1.09. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $469.57 and a 200 day moving average price of $437.74. Mastercard has a fifty-two week low of $357.85 and a fifty-two week high of $490.00. The company has a market capitalization of $413.81 billion, a PE ratio of 35.26, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.71 and a beta of 1.08.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 1st. The credit services provider reported $3.31 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.22 by $0.09. The company had revenue of $6.35 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.34 billion. Mastercard had a net margin of 46.09% and a return on equity of 183.70%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 10.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $2.80 earnings per share. Research analysts expect that Mastercard will post 14.32 earnings per share for the current year.

Mastercard Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 9th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, April 9th will be issued a $0.66 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, April 8th. This represents a $2.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.60%. Mastercard’s dividend payout ratio is currently 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.