Mastercard (NYSE:MA) Given New $565.00 Price Target at BMO Capital Markets

Mastercard (NYSE:MA) had its price objective hoisted by BMO Capital Markets from $550.00 to $565.00 in a research report sent to investors on Thursday morning,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has an outperform rating on the credit services provider’s stock.

Several other research firms have also commented on MA. Citigroup raised their price objective on shares of Mastercard from $566.00 to $572.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, November 4th. Compass Point initiated coverage on shares of Mastercard in a research note on Wednesday, September 4th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $525.00 price target for the company. William Blair upgraded Mastercard to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 31st. Barclays boosted their target price on Mastercard from $536.00 to $576.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 10th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft increased 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. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-one have given a buy rating and three have assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $549.16.

Mastercard Trading Up 0.1 %

Shares of MA stock traded up $0.34 on Thursday, hitting $520.74. 1,527,547 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,448,168. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $503.18 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $470.59. The stock has a market capitalization of $477.95 billion, a PE ratio of 39.43, a PEG ratio of 2.28 and a beta of 1.10. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.36, a quick ratio of 1.29 and a current ratio of 1.29. Mastercard has a twelve month low of $395.55 and a twelve month high of $534.03.

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

Mastercard Announces Dividend

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

Insider Activity at Mastercard

In other news, major shareholder Foundation Mastercard sold 109,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $467.45, for a total transaction of $50,952,050.00. Following the sale, the insider now owns 91,924,308 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $42,970,017,774.60. The trade was a 0.12 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CMO Venkata R. Madabhushi sold 4,685 shares of Mastercard stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the chief marketing officer now directly owns 17,118 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,440,885.80. This represents a 21.49 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 208,370 shares of company stock worth $97,749,218 over the last three months. 0.10% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Mastercard

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Goldstein Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Mastercard by 1.3% in the third quarter. Goldstein Advisors LLC now owns 1,516 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $749,000 after acquiring an additional 20 shares during the last quarter. Community Bank N.A. lifted its stake in shares of Mastercard by 0.9% during the third quarter. Community Bank N.A. now owns 2,190 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $1,081,000 after purchasing an additional 20 shares in the last quarter. McLean Asset Management Corp increased its holdings in Mastercard by 1.3% during the 3rd quarter. McLean Asset Management Corp now owns 1,677 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $834,000 after purchasing an additional 21 shares during the last quarter. Oldfather Financial Services LLC lifted its position in shares of Mastercard by 2.6% in the 3rd quarter. Oldfather Financial Services LLC now owns 827 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $408,000 after buying an additional 21 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Transcendent Capital Group LLC grew its holdings in Mastercard by 4.8% in the 3rd quarter. Transcendent Capital Group LLC now owns 455 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $225,000 after buying an additional 21 shares in the last quarter. 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.