Mastercard (NYSE:MA) Stock Price Down 0% – Should You Sell?

Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA)’s stock price was down 0% during trading on Thursday . The stock traded as low as $525.25 and last traded at $526.56. Approximately 905,742 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 63% from the average daily volume of 2,467,849 shares. The stock had previously closed at $526.57.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

MA has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on Mastercard from $564.00 to $654.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 18th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lifted their price target on Mastercard from $510.00 to $580.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Bank of America increased their price objective on shares of Mastercard from $480.00 to $509.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 17th. Oppenheimer reduced their price target on shares of Mastercard from $591.00 to $588.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, December 19th. Finally, UBS Group raised their price objective on shares of Mastercard from $590.00 to $610.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 14th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-three have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Mastercard currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $562.76.

Mastercard Stock Down 0.2 %

The firm has a market capitalization of $478.52 billion, a PE ratio of 39.44, a P/E/G ratio of 2.36 and a beta of 1.10. The company has a quick ratio of 1.29, a current ratio of 1.29 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.36. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $523.58 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $489.72.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The credit services provider reported $3.89 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.73 by $0.16. The company had revenue of $7.37 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.27 billion. Mastercard had a return on equity of 178.27% and a net margin of 45.26%. The company’s revenue was up 12.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm earned $3.39 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts forecast that Mastercard Incorporated will post 14.47 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Mastercard Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 7th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, January 9th will be paid a dividend of $0.76 per share. This is a boost from Mastercard’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.66. This represents a $3.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.58%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, January 10th. Mastercard’s dividend payout ratio is 23.00%.

Mastercard announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a share repurchase plan on Tuesday, December 17th that authorizes the company to repurchase $12.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the credit services provider to reacquire up to 2.5% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are generally an indication that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Mastercard

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. State Street Corp raised its holdings in shares of Mastercard by 0.7% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 35,288,912 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $17,425,665,000 after purchasing an additional 257,312 shares during the period. FMR LLC grew its position in shares of Mastercard by 3.4% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 21,355,081 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $10,545,139,000 after buying an additional 700,769 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its stake in Mastercard by 2.5% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 18,375,053 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $9,043,972,000 after acquiring an additional 453,773 shares during the period. International Assets Investment Management LLC lifted its holdings in Mastercard by 120,665.3% in the third quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 8,041,758 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $3,971,020,000 after acquiring an additional 8,035,099 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its stake in Mastercard by 4.2% in the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 7,501,814 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $3,800,836,000 after acquiring an additional 304,293 shares during the period. 97.28% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.