UBS Group Forecasts Strong Price Appreciation for Mastercard (NYSE:MA) Stock

Mastercard (NYSE:MA) had its price objective lifted by UBS Group from $590.00 to $610.00 in a research report sent to investors on Thursday morning,Benzinga reports. UBS Group currently has a buy rating on the credit services provider’s stock.

A number of other research analysts have also recently commented on the company. Bank of America boosted their price target on Mastercard from $480.00 to $509.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, September 17th. William Blair raised Mastercard to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 31st. BNP Paribas cut Mastercard from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $470.00 price target on the stock. in a report on Tuesday, September 3rd. Argus raised Mastercard to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Thursday, August 1st. Finally, Compass Point initiated coverage on Mastercard in a report on Wednesday, September 4th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $525.00 price target on the stock. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-one have issued a buy rating and three have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Mastercard has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $549.16.

Mastercard Stock Up 0.3 %

MA stock opened at $521.89 on Thursday. Mastercard has a twelve month low of $395.55 and a twelve month high of $534.03. 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 stock has a market cap of $479.01 billion, a P/E ratio of 39.48, a PEG ratio of 2.28 and a beta of 1.10. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $504.09 and its 200-day moving average price is $471.38.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 31st. The credit services provider reported $3.89 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.73 by $0.16. Mastercard had a return on equity of 178.27% and a net margin of 45.26%. The firm had revenue of $7.37 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $7.27 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $3.39 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 12.8% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Mastercard will post 14.47 EPS for the current year.

Mastercard Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 8th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, October 9th were given a dividend of $0.66 per share. This represents a $2.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.51%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, October 9th. Mastercard’s dividend payout ratio is currently 19.97%.

Insider Activity

In other Mastercard news, major shareholder Foundation Mastercard sold 90,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $468.80, for a total value of $42,192,000.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 91,649,308 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $42,965,195,590.40. This represents a 0.10 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CMO Venkata R. Madabhushi sold 4,685 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, September 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $493.10, for a total value of $2,310,173.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief marketing officer now directly owns 17,118 shares in the company, valued at $8,440,885.80. This trade represents a 21.49 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 99,370 shares of company stock valued at $46,797,168. 0.10% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Mastercard

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd. lifted its holdings in shares of Mastercard by 46.4% in the 1st quarter. China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 14,785 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $7,120,000 after buying an additional 4,685 shares during the period. Nwam LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Mastercard by 20.1% in the 1st quarter. Nwam LLC now owns 1,659 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $760,000 after buying an additional 278 shares during the period. M&G Plc purchased a new stake in shares of Mastercard in the 1st quarter worth $137,081,000. Nicolet Advisory Services LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Mastercard by 1.2% in the 1st quarter. Nicolet Advisory Services LLC now owns 4,334 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $2,046,000 after buying an additional 51 shares during the period. Finally, Intech Investment Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Mastercard by 17.3% in the 1st quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC now owns 28,679 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $13,811,000 after buying an additional 4,227 shares during the period. Institutional investors 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.