Mastercard (NYSE:MA) Stock Price Down 1.6% – Time to Sell?

Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) shares were down 1.6% during mid-day trading on Friday . The stock traded as low as $506.12 and last traded at $507.39. Approximately 784,554 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 63% from the average daily volume of 2,117,840 shares. The stock had previously closed at $515.64.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on MA shares. Oppenheimer decreased their price objective on Mastercard from $591.00 to $588.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, December 19th. Citigroup lifted their price objective on shares of Mastercard from $566.00 to $572.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, November 4th. Susquehanna increased their target price on shares of Mastercard from $540.00 to $605.00 and gave the stock a “positive” rating in a report on Friday, November 1st. Macquarie lifted their price target on shares of Mastercard from $505.00 to $565.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Finally, KeyCorp increased their price objective on shares of Mastercard from $515.00 to $580.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-three have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Mastercard has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $562.76.

Mastercard Stock Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.36, a current ratio of 1.29 and a quick ratio of 1.29. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $524.15 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $491.44. The company has a market capitalization of $465.57 billion, a P/E ratio of 38.37, a PEG ratio of 2.36 and a beta of 1.10.

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

Mastercard Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 7th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, January 9th will be paid a $0.76 dividend. This is an increase from Mastercard’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.66. This represents a $3.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.60%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, January 10th. Mastercard’s payout ratio is 23.00%.

Mastercard declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock repurchase program on Tuesday, December 17th that permits the company to repurchase $12.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the credit services provider to buy up to 2.5% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are usually an indication that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in MA. Highline Wealth Partners LLC boosted its stake in shares of Mastercard by 72.5% in the 4th quarter. Highline Wealth Partners LLC now owns 88 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $46,000 after buying an additional 37 shares during the last quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. increased its stake in shares of Mastercard by 2.4% during the 4th quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 18,352 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $9,664,000 after purchasing an additional 438 shares during the last quarter. ORG Wealth Partners LLC grew its holdings in Mastercard by 8.3% during the fourth quarter. ORG Wealth Partners LLC now owns 1,520 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $801,000 after purchasing an additional 116 shares during the period. Hilltop National Bank increased its holdings in Mastercard by 4.0% in the 4th quarter. Hilltop National Bank now owns 2,978 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $1,568,000 after acquiring an additional 115 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC raised its holdings in Mastercard by 33.5% during the 4th quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 404,236 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $199,613,000 after acquiring an additional 101,347 shares during the period. 97.28% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.