Mastercard (NYSE:MA) Reaches New 1-Year High – Time to Buy?

Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA)’s stock price hit a new 52-week high on Monday . The stock traded as high as $505.68 and last traded at $504.27, with a volume of 244911 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $502.26.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have recently commented on MA. Argus upgraded Mastercard to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Thursday, August 1st. Citigroup boosted their price target on Mastercard from $528.00 to $538.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 1st. Royal Bank of Canada increased their price objective on shares of Mastercard from $500.00 to $526.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 1st. Evercore ISI decreased their target price on shares of Mastercard from $540.00 to $525.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, June 25th. Finally, Oppenheimer began coverage on Mastercard in a report on Tuesday, October 1st. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $591.00 target price for the company. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eighteen have issued a buy rating and three have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $523.27.

Mastercard Stock Up 0.1 %

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.95, a current ratio of 1.14 and a quick ratio of 1.14. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $483.26 and a 200 day moving average of $463.24. The stock has a market capitalization of $471.53 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 40.32, a PEG ratio of 2.22 and a beta of 1.10.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, July 31st. The credit services provider reported $3.59 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.51 by $0.08. Mastercard had a net margin of 46.45% and a return on equity of 179.78%. The business had revenue of $6.96 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.85 billion. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Mastercard Incorporated will post 14.3 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Mastercard Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 8th. Investors of record on Wednesday, October 9th will be issued a dividend of $0.66 per share. This represents a $2.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.52%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, October 9th. Mastercard’s payout ratio is currently 20.99%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CFO J. Mehra Sachin sold 13,439 shares of Mastercard stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $455.00, for a total transaction of $6,114,745.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 27,304 shares in the company, valued at approximately $12,423,320. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. In other news, CFO J. Mehra Sachin sold 13,439 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $455.00, for a total transaction of $6,114,745.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 27,304 shares in the company, valued at approximately $12,423,320. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, major shareholder Foundation Mastercard sold 109,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $467.45, for a total transaction of $50,952,050.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 91,924,308 shares in the company, valued at approximately $42,970,017,774.60. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 340,809 shares of company stock valued at $159,610,703 over the last 90 days. 0.10% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Mastercard

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. McLean Asset Management Corp raised its holdings in Mastercard by 1.3% in the 3rd quarter. McLean Asset Management Corp now owns 1,677 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $834,000 after acquiring an additional 21 shares in the last quarter. Hoxton Planning & Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Mastercard by 1.4% in the 1st quarter. Hoxton Planning & Management LLC now owns 1,637 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $788,000 after purchasing an additional 22 shares in the last quarter. Quilter Plc increased its stake in shares of Mastercard by 2.8% in the 2nd quarter. Quilter Plc now owns 801 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $353,000 after purchasing an additional 22 shares during the last quarter. Benin Management CORP raised its holdings in shares of Mastercard by 3.0% during the 1st quarter. Benin Management CORP now owns 794 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $382,000 after buying an additional 23 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Atticus Wealth Management LLC raised its stake in Mastercard by 1.3% during the first quarter. Atticus Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,734 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $835,000 after acquiring an additional 23 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors 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.