Mastercard (NYSE:MA) Stock Price Down 2.2% – Should You Sell?

Shares of Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) traded down 2.2% during trading on Wednesday . The stock traded as low as $516.41 and last traded at $517.42. 609,872 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 75% from the average session volume of 2,442,788 shares. The stock had previously closed at $529.17.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

MA has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Mizuho lifted their price target on shares of Mastercard from $496.00 to $532.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, November 1st. TD Cowen lifted their target price on Mastercard from $532.00 to $533.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, August 1st. Bank of America upped their price target on Mastercard from $480.00 to $509.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 17th. BMO Capital Markets boosted their target price on Mastercard from $550.00 to $565.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft increased their target price on shares of Mastercard from $510.00 to $580.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, November 1st. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-one have issued a buy rating and three have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $547.40.

Mastercard Stock Down 0.3 %

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.36, a current ratio of 1.29 and a quick ratio of 1.29. The stock has a market capitalization of $477.64 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 39.36, a PEG ratio of 2.28 and a beta of 1.10. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $502.32 and its 200-day moving average is $470.24.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA) last issued 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 business 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 company’s revenue for the quarter was up 12.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $3.39 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Mastercard Incorporated will post 14.45 earnings per share for the current year.

Mastercard Announces Dividend

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

Insider Activity at Mastercard

In other Mastercard news, major shareholder Foundation Mastercard sold 90,000 shares of Mastercard stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $468.80, for a total value of $42,192,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 91,649,308 shares in the company, valued at $42,965,195,590.40. The trade was a 0.10 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, CMO Venkata R. Madabhushi sold 4,685 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, September 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $493.10, for a total value of $2,310,173.50. Following the sale, the chief marketing officer now owns 17,118 shares in the company, valued at $8,440,885.80. The trade was a 21.49 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 208,370 shares of company stock valued at $97,749,218. Corporate insiders own 0.10% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Highline Wealth Partners LLC bought a new position in shares of Mastercard during the third quarter worth about $25,000. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL acquired a new position in Mastercard during the 2nd quarter valued at about $34,000. First Personal Financial Services bought a new position in Mastercard in the 3rd quarter worth about $39,000. Fairway Wealth LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Mastercard in the second quarter valued at approximately $35,000. Finally, Lowe Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Mastercard by 74.0% during the third quarter. Lowe Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 87 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $43,000 after buying an additional 37 shares during the period. 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.