Analysts Set Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) PT at $606.11

Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) has received an average rating of “Moderate Buy” from the thirty analysts that are presently covering the stock, MarketBeat.com reports. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation, twenty-four have issued a buy recommendation and two have given a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average 12-month price target among analysts that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $606.11.

A number of research firms recently weighed in on MA. Morgan Stanley lowered their price objective on shares of Mastercard from $654.00 to $644.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price objective on shares of Mastercard from $618.00 to $665.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. KeyCorp upped their price objective on shares of Mastercard from $600.00 to $630.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Raymond James reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $640.00 price objective (up from $614.00) on shares of Mastercard in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Oppenheimer lowered their price objective on shares of Mastercard from $591.00 to $588.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, December 19th.

Mastercard Trading Down 0.2 %

NYSE MA opened at $535.14 on Friday. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $547.55 and its 200-day moving average price is $524.95. The company has a current ratio of 1.03, a quick ratio of 1.03 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.68. The stock has a market cap of $487.89 billion, a PE ratio of 38.53, a PEG ratio of 2.37 and a beta of 1.10. Mastercard has a 12 month low of $428.86 and a 12 month high of $582.23.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 30th. The credit services provider reported $3.82 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.71 by $0.11. Mastercard had a net margin of 45.71% and a return on equity of 188.47%. Equities research analysts forecast that Mastercard will post 15.91 earnings per share for the current year.

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

Mastercard Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 9th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, April 9th will be issued a dividend of $0.76 per share. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, April 9th. This represents a $3.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.57%. Mastercard’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 21.89%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Edward Grunde Mclaughlin sold 7,132 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $534.68, for a total value of $3,813,337.76. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 34,524 shares in the company, valued at approximately $18,459,292.32. This represents a 17.12 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. 0.10% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Mastercard

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of Mastercard by 0.5% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 77,179,138 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $40,640,219,000 after purchasing an additional 377,302 shares during the period. State Street Corp grew its stake in shares of Mastercard by 0.7% during the 3rd 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 stake in shares of Mastercard by 4.3% during the 4th quarter. FMR LLC now owns 22,267,937 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $11,725,627,000 after purchasing an additional 912,856 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Mastercard by 1.5% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 18,657,792 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $9,800,202,000 after purchasing an additional 282,739 shares during the period. Finally, Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Mastercard during the 4th quarter worth approximately $6,022,224,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 97.28% of the company’s stock.

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.