Royal Bank of Canada Forecasts Strong Price Appreciation for Mastercard (NYSE:MA) Stock

Mastercard (NYSE:MAGet Free Report) had its price target increased by equities researchers at Royal Bank of Canada from $572.00 to $650.00 in a research report issued to clients and investors on Friday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has an “outperform” rating on the credit services provider’s stock. Royal Bank of Canada’s price objective would suggest a potential upside of 16.08% from the stock’s current price.

A number of other brokerages also recently commented on MA. TD Cowen increased their price target on Mastercard from $533.00 to $567.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, November 15th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on shares of Mastercard from $590.00 to $610.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday. Macquarie boosted their price objective on Mastercard from $505.00 to $565.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, November 1st. William Blair reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of Mastercard in a report on Friday. Finally, Oppenheimer lowered their target price on shares of Mastercard from $591.00 to $588.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, December 19th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-three have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Mastercard currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $587.80.

Check Out Our Latest Stock Report on MA

Mastercard Price Performance

MA traded down $6.07 during trading on Friday, reaching $559.94. 2,067,067 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,741,709. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.36, a current ratio of 1.29 and a quick ratio of 1.29. Mastercard has a 1 year low of $428.86 and a 1 year high of $576.94. The company has a market capitalization of $513.93 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 42.36, a P/E/G ratio of 2.17 and a beta of 1.10. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $527.58 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $500.25.

Mastercard (NYSE:MAGet Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The credit services provider reported $3.82 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.71 by $0.11. Mastercard had a return on equity of 178.27% and a net margin of 45.26%. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Mastercard will post 14.47 earnings per share for the current year.

Mastercard announced that its board has initiated a share buyback plan on Tuesday, December 17th that allows the company to repurchase $12.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization allows the credit services provider to reacquire up to 2.5% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are often a sign that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Mastercard

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Temasek Holdings Private Ltd lifted its stake in shares of Mastercard by 2.3% in the third quarter. Temasek Holdings Private Ltd now owns 2,805,554 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $1,385,383,000 after buying an additional 62,891 shares during the period. Nordea Investment Management AB lifted its stake in shares of Mastercard by 15.6% in the fourth quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 2,510,756 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $1,325,353,000 after buying an additional 337,905 shares during the period. Cardano Risk Management B.V. lifted its stake in shares of Mastercard by 2.7% in the fourth quarter. Cardano Risk Management B.V. now owns 368,690 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $194,141,000 after buying an additional 9,611 shares during the period. Sarasin & Partners LLP raised its stake in shares of Mastercard by 4.7% in the 3rd quarter. Sarasin & Partners LLP now owns 831,942 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $410,813,000 after buying an additional 37,486 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Mastercard by 2.0% during the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 5,010,430 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $2,474,151,000 after acquiring an additional 100,550 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 97.28% of the company’s stock.

About Mastercard

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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.

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Analyst Recommendations for Mastercard (NYSE:MA)

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