Mastercard (NYSE:MA) Price Target Raised to $572.00

Mastercard (NYSE:MA) had its target price boosted by Citigroup from $566.00 to $572.00 in a report issued on Monday, Benzinga reports. They currently have a buy rating on the credit services provider’s stock.

A number of other equities research analysts have also issued reports on the stock. KeyCorp upped their target price on shares of Mastercard from $515.00 to $580.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Macquarie upped their price objective on Mastercard from $505.00 to $565.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upped their price target on Mastercard from $510.00 to $580.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, November 1st. Compass Point began coverage on shares of Mastercard in a research note on Wednesday, September 4th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $525.00 target price for the company. Finally, William Blair upgraded shares of Mastercard to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 31st. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty have assigned a buy rating and three have issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Mastercard has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $540.17.

Mastercard Price Performance

Shares of MA stock opened at $521.13 on Monday. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $498.11 and a 200-day simple moving average of $468.02. The company has a market capitalization of $481.44 billion, a PE ratio of 39.42, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.21 and a beta of 1.10. Mastercard has a twelve month low of $384.30 and a twelve month high of $527.90. The company has a current ratio of 1.29, a quick ratio of 1.29 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.36.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The credit services provider reported $3.89 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.73 by $0.16. The company had revenue of $7.37 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.27 billion. Mastercard had a return on equity of 178.27% and a net margin of 45.26%. Mastercard’s quarterly revenue was up 12.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $3.39 EPS. Equities research analysts anticipate that Mastercard will post 14.45 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Mastercard Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 8th. Investors of record on Wednesday, October 9th will be paid a dividend of $0.66 per share. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, October 9th. This represents a $2.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.51%. Mastercard’s dividend payout ratio is presently 19.97%.

Insider Activity

In other Mastercard news, major shareholder Foundation Mastercard sold 119,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $468.46, for a total value of $55,746,740.00. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 92,033,308 shares in the company, valued at approximately $43,113,923,465.68. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In other news, major shareholder Foundation Mastercard sold 119,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, August 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $468.46, for a total transaction of $55,746,740.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 92,033,308 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $43,113,923,465.68. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, CMO Venkata R. Madabhushi sold 4,685 shares of Mastercard 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 in the company, valued at $7,363,085.66. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 327,370 shares of company stock worth $153,495,958. 0.10% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Peterson Financial Group Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Mastercard during the third quarter valued at approximately $67,000. Accent Capital Management LLC grew its position in Mastercard by 1.5% during the 3rd quarter. Accent Capital Management LLC now owns 6,720 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $3,319,000 after purchasing an additional 102 shares in the last quarter. Adero Partners LLC raised its stake in Mastercard by 9.5% during the 3rd quarter. Adero Partners LLC now owns 2,131 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $1,052,000 after purchasing an additional 184 shares during the period. Heritage Investment Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Mastercard by 4.1% in the third quarter. Heritage Investment Group Inc. now owns 835 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $412,000 after purchasing an additional 33 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Natixis Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Mastercard by 11.1% in the third quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC now owns 567,129 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $280,048,000 after buying an additional 56,480 shares during the period. 97.28% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.