Mastercard (NYSE:MA) Stock Rating Lowered by Monness Crespi & Hardt

Mastercard (NYSE:MA) was downgraded by equities researchers at Monness Crespi & Hardt from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research note issued to investors on Wednesday, Marketbeat reports.

A number of other research analysts have also weighed in on MA. William Blair reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of Mastercard in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Seaport Res Ptn cut shares of Mastercard from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 14th. Oppenheimer dropped their price target on shares of Mastercard from $591.00 to $588.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, December 19th. UBS Group upped their price objective on Mastercard from $600.00 to $660.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Piper Sandler restated an “overweight” rating and issued a $635.00 target price (up previously from $591.00) on shares of Mastercard in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-three have assigned a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Mastercard has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $607.96.

Mastercard Trading Down 3.0 %

Shares of MA stock opened at $499.96 on Wednesday. Mastercard has a fifty-two week low of $428.86 and a fifty-two week high of $582.23. 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’s fifty day moving average is $543.80 and its two-hundred day moving average is $528.13. The firm has a market capitalization of $455.81 billion, a P/E ratio of 35.99, a PEG ratio of 2.37 and a beta of 1.06.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The credit services provider reported $3.82 EPS 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%. Research analysts expect that Mastercard will post 15.91 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Mastercard declared that its board has approved a stock repurchase program on Tuesday, December 17th that permits the company to buyback $12.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization permits the credit services provider to reacquire up to 2.5% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are often a sign that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Buying and Selling at Mastercard

In other Mastercard news, insider Edward Grunde Mclaughlin sold 7,132 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $534.68, for a total value of $3,813,337.76. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 34,524 shares in the company, valued at $18,459,292.32. This represents a 17.12 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CEO Michael Miebach sold 15,775 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $550.16, for a total transaction of $8,678,774.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 84,871 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $46,692,629.36. This represents a 15.67 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.10% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of Mastercard in the 4th quarter valued at $6,022,224,000. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its stake in shares of Mastercard by 65,631.5% during the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 8,225,637 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $4,508,636,000 after buying an additional 8,213,123 shares during the period. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new position in Mastercard in the 4th quarter valued at about $837,017,000. Proficio Capital Partners LLC lifted its position in Mastercard by 79,739.7% during the 4th quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC now owns 1,555,277 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $818,962,000 after acquiring an additional 1,553,329 shares during the period. Finally, Northern Trust Corp grew its stake in shares of Mastercard by 15.2% in the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 9,149,181 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $4,817,684,000 after purchasing an additional 1,207,787 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 97.28% of the company’s stock.

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.