Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) Given Average Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by Brokerages

Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) has received an average rating of “Moderate Buy” from the thirty research firms that are currently covering the stock, MarketBeat reports. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-four have given a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. The average 1 year target price among brokerages that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $606.11.

Several equities research analysts have commented on MA shares. Piper Sandler reiterated an “overweight” rating and set a $635.00 price objective (up from $591.00) on shares of Mastercard in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price objective on Mastercard from $590.00 to $610.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, December 9th. Raymond James reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $640.00 price objective (up from $614.00) on shares of Mastercard in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Macquarie boosted their price objective on Mastercard from $565.00 to $645.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Finally, TD Cowen boosted their price objective on Mastercard from $533.00 to $567.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, November 15th.

Institutional Trading of Mastercard

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Addison Advisors LLC raised its stake in Mastercard by 3.8% in the fourth quarter. Addison Advisors LLC now owns 493 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $260,000 after buying an additional 18 shares in the last quarter. Capital Investment Advisory Services LLC raised its stake in Mastercard by 0.6% in the fourth quarter. Capital Investment Advisory Services LLC now owns 3,135 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $1,651,000 after buying an additional 19 shares in the last quarter. Capital Investment Services of America Inc. raised its stake in Mastercard by 4.2% in the fourth quarter. Capital Investment Services of America Inc. now owns 475 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $250,000 after buying an additional 19 shares in the last quarter. Augustine Asset Management Inc. raised its stake in Mastercard by 1.1% in the fourth quarter. Augustine Asset Management Inc. now owns 1,797 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $946,000 after buying an additional 19 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Richard W. Paul & Associates LLC raised its stake in Mastercard by 0.9% in the fourth quarter. Richard W. Paul & Associates LLC now owns 2,245 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $1,182,000 after buying an additional 19 shares in the last quarter. 97.28% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Mastercard Price Performance

Shares of Mastercard stock opened at $576.08 on Monday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.03, a current ratio of 1.03 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.68. Mastercard has a twelve month low of $428.86 and a twelve month high of $576.94. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $542.83 and a 200 day moving average price of $518.02. The firm has a market cap of $525.22 billion, a PE ratio of 41.47, a P/E/G ratio of 2.37 and a beta of 1.10.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 30th. The credit services provider reported $3.82 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.71 by $0.11. Mastercard had a return on equity of 188.47% and a net margin of 45.71%. Sell-side analysts predict that Mastercard will post 15.91 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Mastercard Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 9th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, April 9th will be given a dividend of $0.76 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, April 9th. This represents a $3.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.53%. Mastercard’s dividend payout ratio is currently 21.89%.

Mastercard announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock repurchase plan on Tuesday, December 17th that authorizes the company to repurchase $12.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the credit services provider to repurchase up to 2.5% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are usually an indication that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

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.