Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) Receives Consensus Rating of “Moderate Buy” from Brokerages

Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) has been given a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by the twenty-eight ratings firms that are covering the firm, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation, twenty-one have issued a buy recommendation and three have given a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average 1 year price target among brokerages that have covered the stock in the last year is $549.16.

A number of equities analysts recently commented on the company. Bank of America increased their price target on Mastercard from $480.00 to $509.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 17th. Morgan Stanley increased their price target on Mastercard from $544.00 to $564.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday. Barclays increased their price target on Mastercard from $536.00 to $576.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, October 10th. BMO Capital Markets raised their price objective on Mastercard from $550.00 to $565.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday. Finally, Mizuho increased their target price on Mastercard from $496.00 to $532.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, November 1st.

Insider Activity

In other Mastercard news, CMO Venkata R. Madabhushi sold 4,685 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the sale, the chief marketing officer now directly owns 15,031 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,363,085.66. This represents a 23.76 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, major shareholder Foundation Mastercard sold 109,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $467.45, for a total transaction of $50,952,050.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 91,924,308 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $42,970,017,774.60. This trade represents a 0.12 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders sold 208,370 shares of company stock worth $97,749,218. 0.10% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Mastercard

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in MA. Highline Wealth Partners LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Mastercard in the third quarter worth $25,000. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL acquired a new stake in Mastercard during the second quarter worth $34,000. Fairway Wealth LLC acquired a new stake in Mastercard during the second quarter worth $35,000. First Personal Financial Services bought a new position in shares of Mastercard during the third quarter valued at $39,000. Finally, Lowe Wealth Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Mastercard by 74.0% in the third quarter. Lowe Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 87 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $43,000 after buying an additional 37 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 97.28% of the company’s stock.

Mastercard Stock Up 0.3 %

MA stock opened at $521.89 on Friday. Mastercard has a 1-year low of $395.55 and a 1-year high of $534.03. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $503.18 and a 200-day moving average price of $470.59. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.36, a current ratio of 1.29 and a quick ratio of 1.29. The stock has a market capitalization 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 issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The credit services provider reported $3.89 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.73 by $0.16. The business had revenue of $7.37 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $7.27 billion. Mastercard had a return on equity of 178.27% and a net margin of 45.26%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 12.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $3.39 earnings per share. Equities analysts forecast that Mastercard will post 14.45 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Mastercard Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 8th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, October 9th were paid a dividend of $0.66 per share. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, October 9th. This represents a $2.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.51%. Mastercard’s dividend payout ratio is currently 19.97%.

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.