Mastercard (NYSE:MA) Price Target Raised to $685.00

Mastercard (NYSE:MA) had its target price increased by Tigress Financial from $550.00 to $685.00 in a research note published on Thursday morning,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has a strong-buy rating on the credit services provider’s stock.

A number of other research analysts have also recently weighed in on MA. TD Cowen lifted their price objective on Mastercard from $533.00 to $567.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, November 15th. William Blair reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of Mastercard in a report on Friday, January 31st. Seaport Res Ptn lowered shares of Mastercard from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 14th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised their price objective on shares of Mastercard from $510.00 to $580.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, November 1st. Finally, Susquehanna upped their target price on shares of Mastercard from $605.00 to $670.00 and gave the stock a “positive” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-four have issued a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Mastercard presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $606.11.

Mastercard Stock Down 0.3 %

Shares of MA stock opened at $564.77 on Thursday. The company has a current ratio of 1.03, a quick ratio of 1.29 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.68. Mastercard has a 12 month low of $428.86 and a 12 month high of $576.94. The stock has a market cap of $518.36 billion, a P/E ratio of 40.66, a P/E/G ratio of 2.37 and a beta of 1.10. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $535.49 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $509.54.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 30th. The credit services provider reported $3.82 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.71 by $0.11. Mastercard had a return on equity of 188.47% and a net margin of 45.71%. On average, research analysts expect that Mastercard will post 15.98 earnings per share for the current year.

Mastercard Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 9th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, April 9th will be given a dividend of $0.76 per share. This represents a $3.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.54%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, April 9th. Mastercard’s dividend payout ratio is currently 21.89%.

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

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of MA. Highline Wealth Partners LLC purchased a new stake in Mastercard in the 3rd quarter worth about $25,000. NewSquare Capital LLC bought a new position in shares of Mastercard during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Marshall Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Mastercard in the fourth quarter worth approximately $30,000. Halbert Hargrove Global Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Mastercard during the 4th quarter worth approximately $32,000. Finally, Navigoe LLC purchased a new position in Mastercard during the 4th quarter valued at $33,000. Institutional investors own 97.28% of the company’s stock.

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.