Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) Receives $606.11 Consensus Price Target from Brokerages

Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) has been given an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by the thirty brokerages that are presently covering the stock, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation, twenty-four have assigned a buy recommendation and two have issued a strong buy recommendation on the company. The average 1 year price objective among brokers that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $606.11.

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Monness Crespi & Hardt upgraded shares of Mastercard from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $640.00 price objective on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Macquarie increased their price objective on shares of Mastercard from $565.00 to $645.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Piper Sandler reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $635.00 price objective (up previously from $591.00) on shares of Mastercard in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Raymond James reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $640.00 price target (up previously from $614.00) on shares of Mastercard in a report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, UBS Group lifted their price target on shares of Mastercard from $600.00 to $660.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st.

Mastercard Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE MA opened at $535.14 on Friday. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $547.55 and its 200-day moving average price is $524.95. The company has a quick ratio of 1.03, a current ratio of 1.03 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.68. The company has a market cap of $487.89 billion, a PE ratio of 38.53, a PEG ratio of 2.37 and a beta of 1.10. Mastercard has a 52-week low of $428.86 and a 52-week high of $582.23.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 30th. The credit services provider reported $3.82 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.71 by $0.11. Mastercard had a net margin of 45.71% and a return on equity of 188.47%. As a group, analysts anticipate that Mastercard will post 15.91 EPS for the current year.

Mastercard announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock repurchase program on Tuesday, December 17th that allows the company to repurchase $12.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization allows the credit services provider to reacquire up to 2.5% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are usually a sign that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

Mastercard Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 9th. Investors of record on Wednesday, April 9th will be given a $0.76 dividend. This represents a $3.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.57%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, April 9th. Mastercard’s dividend payout ratio is presently 21.89%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Mastercard news, insider Edward Grunde Mclaughlin sold 7,132 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $534.68, for a total transaction of $3,813,337.76. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 34,524 shares in the company, valued at $18,459,292.32. The trade was a 17.12 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. 0.10% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Fairtree Asset Management Pty Ltd bought a new position in Mastercard during the fourth quarter valued at $455,000. M1 Capital Management LLC bought a new position in Mastercard during the fourth quarter valued at $406,000. DSG Capital Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Mastercard in the fourth quarter worth about $4,886,000. Chancellor Financial Group WB LP bought a new position in shares of Mastercard in the fourth quarter worth about $1,041,000. Finally, 111 Capital bought a new position in shares of Mastercard in the fourth quarter worth about $522,000. 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.