Mastercard (NYSE:MA) Shares Down 0.2% – Here’s Why

Shares of Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) dropped 0.2% on Friday . The company traded as low as $517.68 and last traded at $521.37. Approximately 409,801 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 74% from the average daily volume of 1,585,063 shares. The stock had previously closed at $522.40.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

MA has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. KeyCorp boosted their price target on Mastercard from $515.00 to $580.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, November 1st. BMO Capital Markets boosted their target price on shares of Mastercard from $550.00 to $565.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 14th. Robert W. Baird increased their price target on shares of Mastercard from $545.00 to $575.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 16th. Piper Sandler reissued an “overweight” rating and set a $575.00 price objective (up previously from $565.00) on shares of Mastercard in a research report on Friday, November 15th. Finally, Susquehanna upped their price objective on Mastercard from $540.00 to $605.00 and gave the stock a “positive” rating in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-three have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Mastercard has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $562.76.

Mastercard Price Performance

The firm has a market cap of $478.52 billion, a P/E ratio of 39.44, a P/E/G ratio of 2.36 and a beta of 1.10. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $523.58 and its 200 day simple moving average is $490.00. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.36, a quick ratio of 1.29 and a current ratio of 1.29.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The credit services provider reported $3.89 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.73 by $0.16. Mastercard had a return on equity of 178.27% and a net margin of 45.26%. The company had revenue of $7.37 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.27 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $3.39 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 12.8% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts forecast that Mastercard Incorporated will post 14.47 earnings per share for the current year.

Mastercard Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 7th. Investors of record on Friday, January 10th will be issued a $0.76 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, January 10th. This is a positive change from Mastercard’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.66. This represents a $3.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.58%. Mastercard’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 23.00%.

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

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. International Assets Investment Management LLC boosted its stake in Mastercard by 120,665.3% during the third quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 8,041,758 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $3,971,020,000 after buying an additional 8,035,099 shares during the period. Bank of Montreal Can lifted its holdings in shares of Mastercard by 51.7% in the 3rd quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 5,765,714 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $2,846,187,000 after acquiring an additional 1,965,782 shares during the last quarter. FMR LLC boosted its stake in shares of Mastercard by 3.4% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 21,355,081 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $10,545,139,000 after purchasing an additional 700,769 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in Mastercard by 2.5% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 18,375,053 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $9,043,972,000 after purchasing an additional 453,773 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Montrusco Bolton Investments Inc. raised its position in Mastercard by 52.8% in the 3rd quarter. Montrusco Bolton Investments Inc. now owns 1,185,081 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $573,017,000 after purchasing an additional 409,334 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other 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.