Mastercard (NYSE:MA) Stock Price Up 0.5% – Time to Buy?

Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) traded up 0.5% during mid-day trading on Tuesday . The stock traded as high as $507.85 and last traded at $507.21. 696,659 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 70% from the average session volume of 2,295,478 shares. The stock had previously closed at $504.91.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

MA has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. William Blair restated an “outperform” rating on shares of Mastercard in a research note on Monday, November 25th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price target on shares of Mastercard from $580.00 to $618.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, December 9th. Citigroup lifted their price target on shares of Mastercard from $566.00 to $572.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, November 4th. Mizuho boosted their target price on shares of Mastercard from $496.00 to $532.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Finally, UBS Group upped their price target on shares of Mastercard from $590.00 to $610.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, November 14th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-two have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $566.13.

Mastercard Trading Up 0.2 %

The company’s 50-day moving average price is $524.08 and its 200 day moving average price is $492.75. The stock has a market cap of $464.18 billion, a PE ratio of 38.26, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.36 and a beta of 1.10. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.36, a quick ratio of 1.29 and a current ratio of 1.29.

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

Mastercard Increases Dividend

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

Mastercard announced that its board has initiated a share buyback plan on Tuesday, December 17th that permits the company to buyback $12.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization permits the credit services provider to reacquire up to 2.5% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are usually an indication that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Mastercard

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Highline Wealth Partners LLC acquired a new position in Mastercard in the third quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL bought a new position in Mastercard during the 2nd quarter worth $34,000. First Personal Financial Services bought a new position in Mastercard during the 3rd quarter worth $39,000. Fairway Wealth LLC acquired a new stake in Mastercard in the second quarter worth $35,000. Finally, Lowe Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Mastercard by 74.0% in the third quarter. Lowe Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 87 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $43,000 after buying an additional 37 shares during the last quarter. 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.