William Blair Weighs in on Mastercard Incorporated’s Q2 2024 Earnings (NYSE:MA)

Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) – William Blair dropped their Q2 2024 EPS estimates for Mastercard in a report released on Thursday, May 2nd. William Blair analyst C. Kennedy now forecasts that the credit services provider will earn $3.51 per share for the quarter, down from their prior forecast of $3.71. William Blair currently has a “Outperform” rating on the stock. The consensus estimate for Mastercard’s current full-year earnings is $14.22 per share. William Blair also issued estimates for Mastercard’s Q3 2024 earnings at $3.74 EPS, Q4 2024 earnings at $3.72 EPS, FY2024 earnings at $14.27 EPS, Q1 2025 earnings at $3.74 EPS, Q2 2025 earnings at $4.13 EPS, Q3 2025 earnings at $4.35 EPS, Q4 2025 earnings at $4.28 EPS and FY2025 earnings at $16.50 EPS.

A number of other equities analysts have also recently commented on MA. Susquehanna reaffirmed a “positive” rating and set a $535.00 price target on shares of Mastercard in a research note on Wednesday, April 3rd. Evercore ISI lifted their price target on shares of Mastercard from $530.00 to $545.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 26th. Robert W. Baird lifted their price target on shares of Mastercard from $525.00 to $545.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 18th. Oppenheimer reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $510.00 price target on shares of Mastercard in a research note on Thursday, February 1st. Finally, Raymond James lifted their price target on shares of Mastercard from $452.00 to $504.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 1st. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-two have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Mastercard currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $493.55.

Mastercard Price Performance

MA stock opened at $443.58 on Monday. Mastercard has a 52 week low of $357.85 and a 52 week high of $490.00. The company has a quick ratio of 1.17, a current ratio of 1.09 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.86. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $469.57 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $438.31. The firm has a market capitalization of $413.81 billion, a P/E ratio of 35.26, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.72 and a beta of 1.08.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 1st. The credit services provider reported $3.31 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.22 by $0.09. Mastercard had a net margin of 46.09% and a return on equity of 183.70%. The business had revenue of $6.35 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.34 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $2.80 earnings per share. Mastercard’s quarterly revenue was up 10.4% compared to the same quarter last year.

Mastercard Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 9th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, April 9th will be given a dividend of $0.66 per share. This represents a $2.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.60%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, April 8th. Mastercard’s dividend payout ratio is presently 20.99%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, major shareholder Foundation Mastercard sold 116,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $445.04, for a total value of $51,624,640.00. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 96,651,308 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $43,013,698,112.32. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In related news, CEO Michael Miebach sold 7,851 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction 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 directly owns 47,640 shares in the company, valued at approximately $22,672,828.80. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, major shareholder Foundation Mastercard sold 116,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $445.04, for a total transaction of $51,624,640.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 96,651,308 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $43,013,698,112.32. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 583,088 shares of company stock valued at $266,873,978. Insiders own 0.13% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Mastercard

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in MA. Westend Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in Mastercard during the first quarter worth $27,000. Palisade Asset Management LLC acquired a new position in Mastercard during the first quarter worth $27,000. VitalStone Financial LLC raised its position in Mastercard by 300.0% during the fourth quarter. VitalStone Financial LLC now owns 60 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $26,000 after acquiring an additional 45 shares during the period. Altshuler Shaham Ltd acquired a new position in Mastercard during the fourth quarter worth $26,000. Finally, LFA Lugano Financial Advisors SA acquired a new position in Mastercard during the fourth quarter worth $27,000. 97.28% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.