Mastercard (NYSE:MA) Stock Price Down 0.4%

Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) shares fell 0.4% on Wednesday . The company traded as low as $489.68 and last traded at $494.32. 338,915 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 86% from the average session volume of 2,458,354 shares. The stock had previously closed at $496.38.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on MA shares. BMO Capital Markets reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $520.00 price objective on shares of Mastercard in a research report on Wednesday, August 14th. Evercore ISI dropped their price target on Mastercard from $540.00 to $525.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, June 25th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on Mastercard from $500.00 to $570.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 20th. Susquehanna boosted their target price on Mastercard from $535.00 to $540.00 and gave the company a “positive” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 1st. Finally, TD Cowen raised their price target on shares of Mastercard from $532.00 to $533.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 1st. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty have given a buy rating and three have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Mastercard presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $517.22.

Mastercard Stock Down 0.2 %

The company has a market cap of $460.41 billion, a P/E ratio of 39.29, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.96 and a beta of 1.10. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $472.79 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $462.01. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.95, a quick ratio of 1.14 and a current ratio of 1.14.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 31st. The credit services provider reported $3.59 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.51 by $0.08. Mastercard had a net margin of 46.45% and a return on equity of 179.78%. The company had revenue of $6.96 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.85 billion. Equities research analysts anticipate that Mastercard Incorporated will post 14.29 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Mastercard Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 8th. Investors of record on Wednesday, October 9th will be issued a $0.66 dividend. This represents a $2.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.53%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, October 9th. Mastercard’s dividend payout ratio is currently 20.99%.

Insider Activity at Mastercard

In related news, 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 value of $2,310,173.50. Following the sale, the chief marketing officer now owns 17,118 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,440,885.80. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. In related news, CMO Venkata R. Madabhushi sold 4,685 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, September 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $493.10, for a total value of $2,310,173.50. Following the completion of the sale, the chief marketing officer now directly owns 17,118 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,440,885.80. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, CFO J. Mehra Sachin sold 13,439 shares of Mastercard stock in a transaction on Monday, August 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $455.00, for a total transaction of $6,114,745.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 27,304 shares in the company, valued at $12,423,320. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 340,809 shares of company stock valued at $159,610,703. 0.10% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Swedbank AB bought a new stake in shares of Mastercard during the 1st quarter worth $660,652,000. PineStone Asset Management Inc. raised its position in Mastercard by 145.6% in the second quarter. PineStone Asset Management Inc. now owns 1,777,468 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $784,148,000 after acquiring an additional 1,053,616 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in Mastercard by 1.0% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 75,253,734 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $32,096,470,000 after acquiring an additional 742,076 shares during the last quarter. Capital Research Global Investors grew its position in shares of Mastercard by 4.7% during the 4th quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 13,608,023 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $5,803,956,000 after acquiring an additional 605,909 shares during the period. Finally, Manning & Napier Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Mastercard during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $259,071,000. 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.