Barclays Issues Positive Forecast for Mastercard (NYSE:MA) Stock Price

Mastercard (NYSE:MA) had its price objective hoisted by research analysts at Barclays from $595.00 to $650.00 in a research note issued to investors on Monday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage presently has an “overweight” rating on the credit services provider’s stock. Barclays‘s target price suggests a potential upside of 16.99% from the stock’s current price.

Several other equities analysts have also recently weighed in on the company. Morgan Stanley cut their price objective on Mastercard from $654.00 to $644.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday. BMO Capital Markets lifted 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. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on Mastercard from $590.00 to $610.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday. Raymond James reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $640.00 target price (up previously from $614.00) on shares of Mastercard in a research report on Friday. Finally, Susquehanna lifted their target price on Mastercard from $605.00 to $670.00 and gave the company a “positive” rating in a research report on Friday. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-three have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $598.60.

Mastercard Price Performance

Shares of MA opened at $555.63 on Monday. The company has a current ratio of 1.03, a quick ratio of 1.29 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.68. Mastercard has a 1 year low of $428.86 and a 1 year high of $576.94. The stock has a market cap of $509.97 billion, a P/E ratio of 40.00, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.23 and a beta of 1.10. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $528.28 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $501.78.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA) last issued its 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 188.47% and a net margin of 45.71%. On average, equities analysts predict that Mastercard will post 16.04 earnings per share for the current year.

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

Institutional Trading of Mastercard

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Corps Capital Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Mastercard in the 4th quarter valued at $1,719,000. Cumberland Partners Ltd lifted its position in shares of Mastercard by 1.4% during the 4th quarter. Cumberland Partners Ltd now owns 62,428 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $32,873,000 after acquiring an additional 879 shares during the period. Ieq Capital LLC lifted its position in shares of Mastercard by 19.4% during the 4th quarter. Ieq Capital LLC now owns 83,239 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $43,831,000 after acquiring an additional 13,532 shares during the period. Private Wealth Partners LLC lifted its position in shares of Mastercard by 13.7% during the 4th quarter. Private Wealth Partners LLC now owns 9,559 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $5,033,000 after acquiring an additional 1,149 shares during the period. Finally, CogentBlue Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Mastercard during the 4th quarter valued at $204,000. 97.28% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.