Mastercard (NYSE:MA) to Repurchase $12.00 billion in Outstanding Shares

Mastercard (NYSE:MA) announced that its board has initiated a stock buyback program on Tuesday, December 17th, RTT News reports. The company plans to buyback $12.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization permits the credit services provider to repurchase up to 2.5% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are usually a sign that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

Mastercard Stock Down 2.1 %

Shares of NYSE:MA opened at $519.96 on Thursday. The company has a market capitalization of $477.24 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 39.33, a P/E/G ratio of 2.38 and a beta of 1.10. The business’s 50-day moving average is $519.10 and its 200-day moving average is $483.15. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.36, a current ratio of 1.29 and a quick ratio of 1.29. Mastercard has a 1 year low of $416.53 and a 1 year high of $537.13.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 31st. The credit services provider reported $3.89 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.73 by $0.16. Mastercard had a return on equity of 178.27% and a net margin of 45.26%. The firm had revenue of $7.37 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.27 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $3.39 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 12.8% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts predict that Mastercard will post 14.47 earnings per share for the current year.

Mastercard Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 7th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, January 9th will be issued a $0.76 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, January 9th. This represents a $3.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.58%. This is an increase from Mastercard’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.66. Mastercard’s dividend payout ratio is currently 19.97%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms recently weighed in on MA. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised their price objective on shares of Mastercard from $510.00 to $580.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, November 1st. BNP Paribas downgraded Mastercard from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $470.00 price target for the company. in a research note on Tuesday, September 3rd. Jefferies Financial Group upped their price objective on Mastercard from $590.00 to $610.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, December 9th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their target price on Mastercard from $593.00 to $580.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, November 1st. Finally, Barclays boosted their target price on shares of Mastercard from $536.00 to $576.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 10th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-three have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $562.88.

Insider Transactions at Mastercard

In related news, CMO Venkata R. Madabhushi sold 4,685 shares of the 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 transaction, the chief marketing officer now owns 15,031 shares in the company, 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 can be accessed through this link. Company insiders own 0.10% 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.