Mastercard (NYSE:MA) Shares Up 0.1% – Time to Buy?

Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA)’s share price was up 0.1% on Tuesday . The stock traded as high as $509.55 and last traded at $507.23. Approximately 548,509 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 77% from the average daily volume of 2,428,419 shares. The stock had previously closed at $506.66.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on MA. BMO Capital Markets reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $520.00 target price on shares of Mastercard in a research report on Wednesday, August 14th. Compass Point started coverage on shares of Mastercard in a research report on Wednesday, September 4th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $525.00 target price on the stock. TD Cowen upped their price target on shares of Mastercard from $532.00 to $533.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 1st. Susquehanna raised their price objective on shares of Mastercard from $535.00 to $540.00 and gave the stock a “positive” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 1st. Finally, Citigroup upped their target price on shares of Mastercard from $528.00 to $538.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, August 1st. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eighteen have issued a buy rating and three have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $524.64.

Mastercard Price Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.95, a quick ratio of 1.14 and a current ratio of 1.14. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $484.54 and its 200-day moving average price is $463.60. The firm has a market cap of $477.74 billion, a PE ratio of 40.85, a P/E/G ratio of 2.22 and a beta of 1.10.

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

Mastercard Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed 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. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, October 9th. This represents a $2.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.51%. Mastercard’s dividend payout ratio is presently 20.99%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, 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 transaction 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 $7,363,085.66. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. In other Mastercard news, major shareholder Foundation Mastercard sold 90,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $468.80, for a total transaction of $42,192,000.00. Following the sale, the insider now owns 91,649,308 shares in the company, valued at approximately $42,965,195,590.40. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CMO Venkata R. Madabhushi sold 4,685 shares of the business’s 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 directly owns 15,031 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,363,085.66. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 340,809 shares of company stock worth $159,610,703. 0.10% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Mastercard

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. McLean Asset Management Corp grew its holdings in shares of Mastercard by 1.3% during the third quarter. McLean Asset Management Corp now owns 1,677 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $834,000 after buying an additional 21 shares in the last quarter. Hoxton Planning & Management LLC boosted its position in Mastercard by 1.4% during the first quarter. Hoxton Planning & Management LLC now owns 1,637 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $788,000 after acquiring an additional 22 shares during the last quarter. Quilter Plc grew its stake in Mastercard by 2.8% in the 2nd quarter. Quilter Plc now owns 801 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $353,000 after acquiring an additional 22 shares during the period. Cornerstone Wealth Management LLC raised its holdings in Mastercard by 0.5% in the 3rd quarter. Cornerstone Wealth Management LLC now owns 4,351 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $2,148,000 after acquiring an additional 22 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Benin Management CORP lifted its stake 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 purchasing an additional 23 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.