Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) Given Consensus Rating of “Moderate Buy” by Analysts

Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) has been assigned a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” from the twenty-five research firms that are presently covering the stock, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation, eighteen have assigned a buy recommendation and three have given a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average 1 year target price among brokers that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $525.68.

Several analysts recently commented 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. Compass Point initiated coverage on shares of Mastercard in a report on Wednesday, September 4th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $525.00 price target on the stock. Barclays raised their price target on shares of Mastercard from $536.00 to $576.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, October 10th. Oppenheimer initiated coverage on shares of Mastercard in a report on Tuesday, October 1st. They set an “outperform” rating and a $591.00 price target on the stock. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada raised their price target on shares of Mastercard from $500.00 to $526.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, August 1st.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Mastercard news, CMO Venkata R. Madabhushi sold 4,685 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, September 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $489.86, for a total transaction of $2,294,994.10. Following the sale, the chief marketing officer now owns 15,031 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,363,085.66. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other Mastercard news, CMO Venkata R. Madabhushi sold 4,685 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, September 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $489.86, for a total transaction of $2,294,994.10. Following the sale, the chief marketing officer now owns 15,031 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,363,085.66. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, major shareholder Foundation Mastercard sold 90,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $468.80, for a total transaction of $42,192,000.00. Following the sale, the insider now owns 91,649,308 shares in the company, valued at approximately $42,965,195,590.40. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 340,809 shares of company stock worth $159,610,703. Company insiders own 0.10% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Mastercard

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Goldstein Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Mastercard by 1.3% during the 3rd quarter. Goldstein Advisors LLC now owns 1,516 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $749,000 after purchasing an additional 20 shares during the period. McLean Asset Management Corp boosted its holdings in Mastercard by 1.3% during the 3rd quarter. McLean Asset Management Corp now owns 1,677 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $834,000 after acquiring an additional 21 shares during the period. Hoxton Planning & Management LLC boosted its holdings in Mastercard by 1.4% during the 1st quarter. Hoxton Planning & Management LLC now owns 1,637 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $788,000 after acquiring an additional 22 shares during the period. Quilter Plc boosted its holdings in Mastercard by 2.8% during the 2nd quarter. Quilter Plc now owns 801 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $353,000 after acquiring an additional 22 shares during the period. Finally, Cornerstone Wealth Management LLC boosted its holdings in Mastercard by 0.5% during the 3rd quarter. Cornerstone Wealth Management LLC now owns 4,351 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $2,148,000 after acquiring an additional 22 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 97.28% of the company’s stock.

Mastercard Stock Performance

NYSE:MA opened at $507.36 on Tuesday. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $491.84 and its 200 day simple moving average is $465.39. The stock has a market cap of $471.65 billion, a P/E ratio of 40.33, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.27 and a beta of 1.10. The company has a quick ratio of 1.14, a current ratio of 1.14 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.95. Mastercard has a twelve month low of $359.77 and a twelve month high of $518.82.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 31st. The credit services provider reported $3.59 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 the consensus estimate of $6.85 billion. As a group, research analysts predict that Mastercard will post 14.32 EPS for the current year.

Mastercard Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 8th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, October 9th will be paid a dividend of $0.66 per share. This represents a $2.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.52%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, October 9th. Mastercard’s payout ratio is 20.99%.

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.