Mastercard (NYSE:MA) Price Target Raised to $665.00

Mastercard (NYSE:MA) had its price objective increased by investment analysts at Keefe, Bruyette & Woods from $618.00 to $665.00 in a research report issued to clients and investors on Friday,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has an “outperform” rating on the credit services provider’s stock. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods’ price target indicates a potential upside of 18.09% from the company’s current price.

MA has been the subject of several other reports. Mizuho increased their target price on shares of Mastercard from $496.00 to $532.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, November 1st. William Blair reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of Mastercard in a research note on Friday. Susquehanna lifted their price objective on shares of Mastercard from $605.00 to $670.00 and gave the stock a “positive” rating in a research note on Friday. Seaport Res Ptn cut Mastercard from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 14th. Finally, Monness Crespi & Hardt upgraded Mastercard from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $640.00 price target for the company in a report on Friday. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-three have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $581.72.

Mastercard Stock Down 0.5 %

NYSE:MA traded down $2.88 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $563.13. 1,709,647 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,723,290. Mastercard has a one year low of $428.86 and a one year high of $576.94. 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 firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $527.58 and its 200-day simple moving average is $500.25. The company has a market cap of $516.85 billion, a PE ratio of 42.62, a PEG ratio of 2.17 and a beta of 1.10.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The credit services provider reported $3.82 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.71 by $0.11. Mastercard had a net margin of 45.26% and a return on equity of 178.27%. Equities analysts predict that Mastercard will post 14.47 earnings per share for the current year.

Mastercard declared that its board has approved a stock repurchase program on Tuesday, December 17th that allows the company to buyback $12.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the credit services provider to purchase up to 2.5% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are usually a sign that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

Institutional Trading of Mastercard

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. International Assets Investment Management LLC boosted its holdings in Mastercard by 120,665.3% in the third quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 8,041,758 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $3,971,020,000 after acquiring an additional 8,035,099 shares in the last quarter. Bank of Montreal Can raised its stake in Mastercard by 51.7% during the third quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 5,765,714 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $2,846,187,000 after buying an additional 1,965,782 shares during the last quarter. FMR LLC grew its stake in shares of Mastercard by 3.4% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 21,355,081 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $10,545,139,000 after acquiring an additional 700,769 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Mastercard by 2.5% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 18,375,053 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $9,043,972,000 after acquiring an additional 453,773 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Montrusco Bolton Investments Inc. boosted its stake in Mastercard by 52.8% in the 3rd quarter. Montrusco Bolton Investments Inc. now owns 1,185,081 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $573,017,000 after purchasing an additional 409,334 shares in the last quarter. 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.