Morgan Stanley Forecasts Strong Price Appreciation for Mastercard (NYSE:MA) Stock

Mastercard (NYSE:MA) had its price objective boosted by Morgan Stanley from $564.00 to $654.00 in a research note published on Wednesday morning,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has an overweight rating on the credit services provider’s stock.

Several other equities analysts have also issued reports on MA. Susquehanna raised their price objective on Mastercard from $540.00 to $605.00 and gave the stock a “positive” rating in a report on Friday, November 1st. Piper Sandler restated an “overweight” rating and set a $575.00 price target (up previously from $565.00) on shares of Mastercard in a research note on Friday, November 15th. TD Cowen lifted their price target on Mastercard from $533.00 to $567.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, November 15th. BMO Capital Markets increased their price objective on Mastercard from $550.00 to $565.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, November 14th. Finally, Oppenheimer began coverage on shares of Mastercard in a report on Tuesday, October 1st. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $591.00 target price on the stock. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-three have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $562.88.

Mastercard Stock Up 1.0 %

MA stock traded up $5.35 during trading on Wednesday, hitting $525.31. 641,410 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,457,727. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $519.10 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $483.15. The company has a current ratio of 1.29, a quick ratio of 1.29 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.36. The stock has a market capitalization of $482.15 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 39.74, a PEG ratio of 2.38 and a beta of 1.10. Mastercard has a 52-week low of $416.53 and a 52-week high of $537.13.

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 the consensus estimate of $3.73 by $0.16. The business had revenue of $7.37 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations 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. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Mastercard will post 14.47 EPS for the current year.

Mastercard Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 7th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, January 9th will be given a dividend of $0.76 per share. This is a positive change from Mastercard’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.66. This represents a $3.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.58%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, January 9th. Mastercard’s dividend payout ratio is presently 19.97%.

Mastercard announced that its board has initiated a share buyback plan on Tuesday, December 17th that authorizes the company to buyback $12.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the credit services provider to repurchase up to 2.5% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are generally an indication that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Transactions at Mastercard

In other Mastercard news, CMO Venkata R. Madabhushi sold 4,685 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, September 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $489.86, for a total value of $2,294,994.10. Following the sale, the chief marketing officer now owns 15,031 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,363,085.66. This represents a 23.76 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.10% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Mastercard

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Highline Wealth Partners LLC acquired a new position in Mastercard in the third quarter valued at $25,000. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL acquired a new position in Mastercard during the second quarter worth approximately $34,000. First Personal Financial Services purchased a new position in Mastercard during the third quarter worth approximately $39,000. Fairway Wealth LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Mastercard during the 2nd quarter worth $35,000. Finally, Lowe Wealth Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Mastercard by 74.0% in the 3rd 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. Hedge funds and other 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.