Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) Receives Average Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from Brokerages

Shares of Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) have earned an average rating of “Moderate Buy” from the thirty research firms that are covering the stock, Marketbeat reports. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation, twenty-four have issued a buy recommendation and two have issued a strong buy recommendation on the company. The average 1 year price objective among brokers that have covered the stock in the last year is $606.11.

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on MA shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on Mastercard from $590.00 to $610.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Monness Crespi & Hardt raised Mastercard from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $640.00 target price on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Morgan Stanley cut their price target on Mastercard from $654.00 to $644.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Tigress Financial reiterated a “strong-buy” rating on shares of Mastercard in a research note on Monday, March 10th. Finally, Macquarie boosted their target price on shares of Mastercard from $565.00 to $645.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st.

Mastercard Price Performance

MA opened at $536.08 on Friday. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $546.96 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $524.00. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.68, a quick ratio of 1.03 and a current ratio of 1.03. The stock has a market capitalization of $488.74 billion, a P/E ratio of 38.59, a P/E/G ratio of 2.37 and a beta of 1.10. Mastercard has a 52-week low of $428.86 and a 52-week high of $582.23.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 30th. The credit services provider reported $3.82 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.71 by $0.11. Mastercard had a net margin of 45.71% and a return on equity of 188.47%. As a group, analysts predict that Mastercard will post 15.91 EPS for the current year.

Mastercard Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 9th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, April 9th will be given a dividend of $0.76 per share. This represents a $3.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.57%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, April 9th. Mastercard’s payout ratio is currently 21.89%.

Mastercard declared that its board has authorized a stock 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 purchase up to 2.5% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are typically a sign that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Buying and Selling at Mastercard

In other news, insider Edward Grunde Mclaughlin sold 7,132 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $534.68, for a total transaction of $3,813,337.76. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 34,524 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $18,459,292.32. This represents a 17.12 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 0.10% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Mastercard

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Swedbank AB grew its position in Mastercard by 14.8% in the third quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 1,874,568 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $925,662,000 after acquiring an additional 241,297 shares in the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Mastercard by 4.8% in the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 3,031,915 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $1,497,160,000 after purchasing an additional 138,842 shares during the last quarter. Segall Bryant & Hamill LLC purchased a new position in shares of Mastercard in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $20,349,000. Strategy Asset Managers LLC increased its position in shares of Mastercard by 17.8% during the 3rd quarter. Strategy Asset Managers LLC now owns 892 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $440,000 after purchasing an additional 135 shares during the last quarter. Finally, First Horizon Advisors Inc. raised its holdings in Mastercard by 4.1% during the 3rd quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. now owns 5,140 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $2,539,000 after buying an additional 204 shares during the period. 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.