Mastercard (NYSE:MA) Given New $524.00 Price Target at Morgan Stanley

Mastercard (NYSE:MA) had its target price trimmed by Morgan Stanley from $536.00 to $524.00 in a research report released on Thursday morning, Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has an overweight rating on the credit services provider’s stock.

Several other equities research analysts have also recently commented on MA. Raymond James raised their target price on shares of Mastercard from $452.00 to $504.00 and gave the stock an outperform rating in a research report on Thursday, February 1st. Evercore ISI upped their target price on Mastercard from $530.00 to $545.00 and gave the stock an outperform rating in a report on Tuesday, March 26th. KeyCorp raised their target price on Mastercard from $475.00 to $490.00 and gave the company an overweight rating in a research note on Thursday, February 1st. BMO Capital Markets lifted their price target on Mastercard from $480.00 to $490.00 and gave the company an outperform rating in a research report on Thursday, February 1st. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on Mastercard from $490.00 to $530.00 and gave the stock an overweight rating in a report on Wednesday, March 6th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-two have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Mastercard presently has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and an average target price of $493.55.

Mastercard Trading Up 0.6 %

NYSE:MA traded up $2.48 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $443.58. 3,711,610 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,507,301. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $469.57 and a 200-day moving average price of $437.74. The firm has a market capitalization of $413.81 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 35.26, a PEG ratio of 1.71 and a beta of 1.08. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.86, a current ratio of 1.09 and a quick ratio of 1.17. Mastercard has a 12-month low of $357.85 and a 12-month high of $490.00.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, May 1st. The credit services provider reported $3.31 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.22 by $0.09. The firm had revenue of $6.35 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.34 billion. Mastercard had a return on equity of 183.70% and a net margin of 46.09%. The business’s revenue was up 10.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $2.80 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Mastercard will post 14.32 earnings per share for the current year.

Mastercard Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 9th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, April 9th will be issued a dividend of $0.66 per share. This represents a $2.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.60%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, April 8th. Mastercard’s payout ratio is currently 20.99%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Mastercard news, major shareholder Foundation Mastercard sold 116,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $445.04, for a total transaction of $51,624,640.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 96,651,308 shares in the company, valued at approximately $43,013,698,112.32. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. In other news, CEO Michael Miebach sold 7,851 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, March 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $475.92, for a total value of $3,736,447.92. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 47,640 shares in the company, valued at approximately $22,672,828.80. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, major shareholder Foundation Mastercard sold 116,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $445.04, for a total value of $51,624,640.00. Following the sale, the insider now owns 96,651,308 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $43,013,698,112.32. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 583,088 shares of company stock worth $266,873,978. 0.13% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Mastercard

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in MA. Altshuler Shaham Ltd purchased a new stake in shares of Mastercard in the 4th quarter worth $26,000. VitalStone Financial LLC raised its stake in shares of Mastercard by 300.0% in the fourth quarter. VitalStone Financial LLC now owns 60 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $26,000 after buying an additional 45 shares during the period. LFA Lugano Financial Advisors SA purchased a new position in shares of Mastercard during the 4th quarter valued at about $27,000. Westend Capital Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Mastercard during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Finally, Palisade Asset Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Mastercard during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $27,000. 97.28% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.