Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) Receives Average Rating of “Moderate Buy” from Brokerages

Shares of Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) have earned a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the twenty-eight ratings firms that are covering the firm, Marketbeat.com reports. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation, twenty-one have given a buy recommendation and three have issued a strong buy recommendation on the company. The average twelve-month target price among brokerages that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $549.16.

Several research firms recently commented on MA. Mizuho boosted their price target on Mastercard from $496.00 to $532.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, November 1st. KeyCorp upped their target price on Mastercard from $515.00 to $580.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, November 1st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price target on shares of Mastercard from $593.00 to $580.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, November 1st. Robert W. Baird upped their price target on shares of Mastercard from $545.00 to $575.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 16th. Finally, Oppenheimer began coverage on shares of Mastercard in a research note on Tuesday, October 1st. They set an “outperform” rating and a $591.00 price objective on the stock.

Mastercard Trading Up 1.1 %

MA opened at $520.76 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $477.97 billion, a P/E ratio of 39.39, a P/E/G ratio of 2.31 and a beta of 1.10. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $506.91 and its 200-day moving average is $473.55. The company has a quick ratio of 1.29, a current ratio of 1.29 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.36. Mastercard has a 52-week low of $404.32 and a 52-week high of $534.03.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 31st. The credit services provider reported $3.89 EPS 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 firm’s revenue was up 12.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $3.39 EPS. Analysts expect that Mastercard will post 14.47 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Mastercard Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 8th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, October 9th were paid a dividend of $0.66 per share. This represents a $2.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.51%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, October 9th. Mastercard’s payout ratio is 19.97%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Mastercard

In other news, CMO Venkata R. Madabhushi sold 4,685 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, September 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $489.86, for a total value of $2,294,994.10. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief marketing officer now owns 15,031 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,363,085.66. This represents a 23.76 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. 0.10% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Mastercard

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Eaton Financial Holdings Company LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Mastercard in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $609,000. Anchor Investment Management LLC lifted its position in Mastercard by 1.7% in the third quarter. Anchor Investment Management LLC now owns 9,345 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $4,614,000 after purchasing an additional 153 shares during the period. SkyView Investment Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Mastercard by 4.2% during the 3rd quarter. SkyView Investment Advisors LLC now owns 5,035 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $2,493,000 after purchasing an additional 203 shares in the last quarter. Virtu Financial LLC increased its position in shares of Mastercard by 18.5% during the 3rd quarter. Virtu Financial LLC now owns 3,105 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $1,533,000 after purchasing an additional 485 shares during the period. Finally, Advisory Resource Group raised its stake in shares of Mastercard by 1.3% in the 3rd quarter. Advisory Resource Group now owns 2,276 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $1,124,000 after buying an additional 29 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.