Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) Given Average Recommendation of “Buy” by Analysts

Shares of Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) have received an average recommendation of “Buy” from the twenty-seven brokerages that are presently covering the firm, MarketBeat reports. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty have given a buy rating and four have issued a strong buy rating on the company. The average 1-year target price among analysts that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $508.91.

Several brokerages recently issued reports on MA. KeyCorp upped their target price on Mastercard from $490.00 to $515.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 1st. William Blair raised Mastercard to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 31st. Bank of America lowered Mastercard from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and reduced their target price for the company from $505.00 to $480.00 in a research report on Wednesday, July 10th. Robert W. Baird boosted their price target on Mastercard from $525.00 to $545.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 18th. Finally, Piper Sandler boosted their price target on Mastercard from $531.00 to $536.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, August 2nd.

Mastercard Trading Up 0.2 %

MA opened at $460.16 on Thursday. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $447.79 and a 200-day moving average price of $457.81. Mastercard has a 12 month low of $359.77 and a 12 month high of $490.00. The firm has a market cap of $427.77 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 36.58, a PEG ratio of 1.82 and a beta of 1.09. The company has a current ratio of 1.14, a quick ratio of 1.09 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.95.

Mastercard Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 9th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, July 9th were given a dividend of $0.66 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, July 9th. This represents a $2.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.57%. Mastercard’s dividend payout ratio is currently 20.99%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Mastercard news, major shareholder Foundation Mastercard sold 122,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $460.20, for a total transaction of $56,144,400.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 94,971,308 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $43,705,795,941.60. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. In other Mastercard news, CFO J. Mehra Sachin sold 13,439 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $455.00, for a total transaction of $6,114,745.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 27,304 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $12,423,320. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, major shareholder Foundation Mastercard sold 122,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $460.20, for a total value of $56,144,400.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 94,971,308 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $43,705,795,941.60. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 1,749,175 shares of company stock worth $786,543,836. 0.10% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Mastercard

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Altshuler Shaham Ltd acquired a new stake in shares of Mastercard in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $26,000. VitalStone Financial LLC increased its stake in Mastercard by 300.0% during the fourth quarter. VitalStone Financial LLC now owns 60 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $26,000 after acquiring an additional 45 shares during the last quarter. Westend Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in Mastercard during the first quarter worth $27,000. Palisade Asset Management LLC acquired a new stake in Mastercard during the first quarter worth $27,000. Finally, Scarborough Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Mastercard during the fourth quarter worth $28,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.