Macquarie Issues Positive Forecast for Mastercard (NYSE:MA) Stock Price

Mastercard (NYSE:MA) had its price objective hoisted by Macquarie from $505.00 to $565.00 in a report issued on Friday, Benzinga reports. They currently have an outperform rating on the credit services provider’s stock.

Several other equities analysts have also issued reports on the company. Royal Bank of Canada raised their price target on Mastercard from $500.00 to $526.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, August 1st. Susquehanna raised their target price on shares of Mastercard from $540.00 to $605.00 and gave the company a “positive” rating in a research note on Friday. BNP Paribas downgraded shares of Mastercard from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $470.00 price target for the company. in a research note on Tuesday, September 3rd. Mizuho raised their price objective on shares of Mastercard from $496.00 to $532.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday. Finally, Bank of America lifted their target price on shares of Mastercard from $480.00 to $509.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, September 17th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty have given a buy rating and three have assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $537.92.

Mastercard Trading Up 1.7 %

MA opened at $508.08 on Friday. Mastercard has a 1-year low of $378.48 and a 1-year high of $527.90. The stock has a market capitalization of $469.38 billion, a PE ratio of 38.43, a PEG ratio of 2.21 and a beta of 1.10. The company has a current ratio of 1.29, a quick ratio of 1.14 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.36. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $495.77 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $466.94.

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, topping the consensus estimate of $3.73 by $0.16. Mastercard had a net margin of 45.26% and a return on equity of 178.27%. The firm had revenue of $7.37 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $7.27 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $3.39 EPS. Mastercard’s revenue was up 12.8% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Mastercard will post 14.35 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Mastercard Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 8th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, October 9th will be issued a dividend of $0.66 per share. This represents a $2.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.52%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, October 9th. Mastercard’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 19.97%.

Insider Activity

In related news, major shareholder Foundation Mastercard sold 109,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $467.45, for a total transaction of $50,952,050.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 91,924,308 shares in the company, valued at approximately $42,970,017,774.60. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In related news, major shareholder Foundation Mastercard sold 109,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, August 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $467.45, for a total value of $50,952,050.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 91,924,308 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $42,970,017,774.60. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CMO Venkata R. Madabhushi sold 4,685 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, September 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $489.86, for a total transaction of $2,294,994.10. Following the sale, the chief marketing officer now directly owns 15,031 shares in the company, valued at $7,363,085.66. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 327,370 shares of company stock worth $153,495,958 over the last three months. Corporate insiders own 0.10% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Mastercard

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in MA. China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd. lifted its stake in Mastercard by 46.4% in the first quarter. China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 14,785 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $7,120,000 after acquiring an additional 4,685 shares during the last quarter. Greenwood Capital Associates LLC increased its position in Mastercard by 3.7% during the first quarter. Greenwood Capital Associates LLC now owns 679 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $327,000 after buying an additional 24 shares during the last quarter. Palisade Asset Management LLC bought a new stake in Mastercard in the first quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Tobam lifted its position in shares of Mastercard by 8.0% in the first quarter. Tobam now owns 1,730 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $833,000 after buying an additional 128 shares during the last quarter. Finally, BNP Paribas bought a new position in shares of Mastercard during the 1st quarter worth approximately $10,604,000. 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.