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

Mastercard (NYSE:MA) had its price objective lifted by stock analysts at Morgan Stanley from $544.00 to $564.00 in a research note issued to investors on Thursday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage presently has an “overweight” rating on the credit services provider’s stock. Morgan Stanley’s target price would indicate a potential upside of 8.07% from the company’s previous close.

A number of other equities research analysts have also weighed in on the company. 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. Macquarie increased their price objective on Mastercard from $505.00 to $565.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Mizuho raised their target price on shares of Mastercard from $496.00 to $532.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, November 1st. Robert W. Baird increased their price objective on shares of Mastercard from $545.00 to $575.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 16th. Finally, Compass Point began coverage on Mastercard in a research report on Wednesday, September 4th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $525.00 target price on the stock. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-one have assigned a buy rating and three have given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $549.16.

Mastercard Trading Up 0.3 %

MA opened at $521.89 on Thursday. Mastercard has a 52 week low of $395.55 and a 52 week high of $534.03. The company has a quick ratio of 1.29, a current ratio of 1.29 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.36. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $503.18 and a 200-day simple moving average of $470.59. The firm has a market cap of $479.01 billion, a P/E ratio of 39.48, a P/E/G ratio of 2.28 and a beta of 1.10.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The credit services provider reported $3.89 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.73 by $0.16. The firm had revenue of $7.37 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.27 billion. Mastercard had a net margin of 45.26% and a return on equity of 178.27%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 12.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $3.39 EPS. On average, equities analysts expect that Mastercard will post 14.45 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, major shareholder Foundation Mastercard sold 90,000 shares of Mastercard stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $468.80, for a total value of $42,192,000.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 91,649,308 shares in the company, valued at $42,965,195,590.40. The trade was a 0.10 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, CMO Venkata R. Madabhushi sold 4,685 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, September 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $493.10, for a total transaction of $2,310,173.50. Following the sale, the chief marketing officer now directly owns 17,118 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $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 sold a total of 208,370 shares of company stock worth $97,749,218 in the last three months. 0.10% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Mastercard

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in MA. China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd. raised its holdings in Mastercard by 46.4% during the first quarter. China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 14,785 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $7,120,000 after buying an additional 4,685 shares in the last quarter. Nwam LLC boosted its holdings in Mastercard by 20.1% during the first quarter. Nwam LLC now owns 1,659 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $760,000 after purchasing an additional 278 shares in the last quarter. M&G Plc bought a new stake in Mastercard in the first quarter valued at $137,081,000. Nicolet Advisory Services LLC boosted its stake in shares of Mastercard by 1.2% in the 1st quarter. Nicolet Advisory Services LLC now owns 4,334 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $2,046,000 after purchasing an additional 51 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Intech Investment Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Mastercard by 17.3% in the 1st quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC now owns 28,679 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $13,811,000 after purchasing an additional 4,227 shares during the last quarter. 97.28% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.