Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) Given Average Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by Brokerages

Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) has been given a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by the twenty-five ratings firms that are currently covering the stock, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation, twenty-two have assigned a buy recommendation and one has assigned a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average 1 year price target among brokers that have covered the stock in the last year is $497.78.

A number of analysts recently weighed in on the company. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on Mastercard from $490.00 to $530.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 6th. Robert W. Baird lifted their price target on Mastercard from $525.00 to $545.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 18th. Mizuho decreased their price target on Mastercard from $480.00 to $478.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, May 2nd. Piper Sandler started coverage on Mastercard in a research note on Monday, May 13th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $531.00 price target on the stock. Finally, TD Cowen started coverage on Mastercard in a research note on Thursday, April 11th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $545.00 price target on the stock.

Insider Transactions at Mastercard

In related news, major shareholder Foundation Mastercard sold 107,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, June 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $445.98, for a total transaction of $47,719,860.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 92,891,308 shares in the company, valued at $41,427,665,541.84. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In other Mastercard news, insider Sandra A. Arkell sold 300 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $454.00, for a total value of $136,200.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 3,463 shares in the company, valued at $1,572,202. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, major shareholder Foundation Mastercard sold 107,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $445.98, for a total value of $47,719,860.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 92,891,308 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $41,427,665,541.84. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 2,774,200 shares of company stock worth $1,251,670,450 over the last quarter. 0.10% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Mastercard

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Regal Investment Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Mastercard by 1.9% in the third quarter. Regal Investment Advisors LLC now owns 2,636 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $1,044,000 after acquiring an additional 50 shares during the period. Dark Forest Capital Management LP boosted its stake in shares of Mastercard by 81.0% in the third quarter. Dark Forest Capital Management LP now owns 1,171 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $464,000 after acquiring an additional 524 shares during the period. LPL Financial LLC boosted its stake in shares of Mastercard by 8.2% in the third quarter. LPL Financial LLC now owns 640,977 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $253,769,000 after acquiring an additional 48,784 shares during the period. Ranch Capital Advisors Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Mastercard by 7.6% in the third quarter. Ranch Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 1,409 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $558,000 after acquiring an additional 99 shares during the period. Finally, Visionary Wealth Advisors boosted its stake in shares of Mastercard by 0.5% in the third quarter. Visionary Wealth Advisors now owns 5,311 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $2,103,000 after acquiring an additional 27 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 97.28% of the company’s stock.

Mastercard Stock Performance

Shares of MA opened at $454.85 on Wednesday. The company has a market cap of $422.83 billion, a PE ratio of 36.16, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.77 and a beta of 1.09. The company has a current ratio of 1.09, a quick ratio of 1.09 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.86. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $452.30 and a 200-day moving average price of $452.16. Mastercard has a 12-month low of $359.77 and a 12-month high of $490.00.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, May 1st. The credit services provider reported $3.31 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.22 by $0.09. The company had revenue of $6.35 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.34 billion. Mastercard had a return on equity of 183.70% and a net margin of 46.09%. Mastercard’s quarterly revenue was up 10.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $2.80 EPS. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Mastercard will post 14.22 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, August 9th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, July 9th will be paid a $0.66 dividend. This represents a $2.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.58%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, July 9th. Mastercard’s dividend payout ratio is currently 20.99%.

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.