Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) Receives Average Rating of “Moderate Buy” from Brokerages

Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) has earned a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the thirty-one ratings firms that are covering the firm, MarketBeat reports. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-three have issued a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating on the company. The average 12 month price objective among brokers that have covered the stock in the last year is $606.25.

MA has been the subject of several research reports. Barclays lifted their price target on shares of Mastercard from $595.00 to $650.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. KeyCorp raised their price target on shares of Mastercard from $630.00 to $635.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, May 2nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on Mastercard from $590.00 to $610.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Susquehanna raised their target price on Mastercard from $605.00 to $670.00 and gave the company a “positive” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Piper Sandler reiterated an “overweight” rating and set a $635.00 price target (up previously from $591.00) on shares of Mastercard in a report on Friday, January 31st.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Michael Miebach sold 15,775 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $550.16, for a total value of $8,678,774.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 84,871 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $46,692,629.36. This represents a 15.67 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider Edward Grunde Mclaughlin sold 7,132 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $534.68, for a total value of $3,813,337.76. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 34,524 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $18,459,292.32. This trade represents a 17.12 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.10% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Mastercard

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. CenterBook Partners LP purchased a new position in Mastercard in the first quarter worth about $2,742,000. Waycross Partners LLC increased its holdings in shares of Mastercard by 24.7% in the 1st quarter. Waycross Partners LLC now owns 56,407 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $30,918,000 after purchasing an additional 11,168 shares in the last quarter. Deutsche Bank AG raised its stake in shares of Mastercard by 9.0% in the first quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 3,042,882 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $1,667,864,000 after purchasing an additional 250,974 shares during the last quarter. Roof Eidam Maycock Peralta LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Mastercard by 6.5% during the first quarter. Roof Eidam Maycock Peralta LLC now owns 4,741 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $2,599,000 after purchasing an additional 290 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its position in shares of Mastercard by 4.3% during the first quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 5,397,147 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $2,958,284,000 after buying an additional 221,417 shares during the last quarter. 97.28% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Mastercard Stock Up 0.2 %

Shares of NYSE:MA opened at $568.38 on Friday. Mastercard has a 1 year low of $428.86 and a 1 year high of $582.23. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.68, a current ratio of 1.03 and a quick ratio of 1.03. The business’s 50-day moving average is $532.17 and its 200-day moving average is $533.09. The company has a market capitalization of $518.20 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 40.92, a P/E/G ratio of 2.37 and a beta of 1.06.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 1st. The credit services provider reported $3.73 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.57 by $0.16. The company had revenue of $7.25 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.12 billion. Mastercard had a net margin of 45.71% and a return on equity of 188.47%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 14.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $3.31 EPS. Equities research analysts predict that Mastercard will post 15.91 earnings per share for the current year.

Mastercard Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 9th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, April 9th were issued a $0.76 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, April 9th. This represents a $3.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.53%. Mastercard’s dividend payout ratio is currently 21.32%.

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.