Mastercard (NYSE:MA) Sets New 52-Week High – Time to Buy?

Shares of Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) hit a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Thursday . The company traded as high as $527.90 and last traded at $526.74, with a volume of 221963 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $513.69.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have recently weighed in on MA shares. Bank of America lifted their price target on shares of Mastercard from $480.00 to $509.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 17th. Compass Point started coverage on shares of Mastercard in a research report on Wednesday, September 4th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $525.00 price target on the stock. Robert W. Baird lifted 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. BNP Paribas cut shares of Mastercard from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $470.00 price target on the stock. in a research report on Tuesday, September 3rd. Finally, Citigroup lifted their price target on shares of Mastercard from $528.00 to $538.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 1st. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eighteen have assigned a buy rating and three have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Mastercard currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $525.68.

Mastercard Stock Down 0.7 %

The company has a market capitalization of $471.06 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 39.29, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.27 and a beta of 1.10. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $494.33 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $466.27. The company has a current ratio of 1.14, a quick ratio of 1.14 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.95.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 31st. The credit services provider reported $3.59 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.51 by $0.08. The company had revenue of $6.96 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.85 billion. Mastercard had a net margin of 46.45% and a return on equity of 179.78%. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Mastercard Incorporated will post 14.32 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Mastercard Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 8th. Investors of record on Wednesday, October 9th will be issued a dividend of $0.66 per share. This represents a $2.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.52%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, October 9th. Mastercard’s payout ratio is 20.18%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CFO J. Mehra Sachin sold 13,439 shares of Mastercard stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $455.00, for a total transaction of $6,114,745.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 27,304 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $12,423,320. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other Mastercard news, CFO J. Mehra Sachin sold 13,439 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $455.00, for a total value of $6,114,745.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 27,304 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $12,423,320. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, major shareholder Foundation Mastercard sold 119,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $468.46, for a total transaction of $55,746,740.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 92,033,308 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $43,113,923,465.68. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 340,809 shares of company stock valued at $159,610,703. Company insiders own 0.10% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Mastercard

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of MA. Highline Wealth Partners LLC bought a new stake in shares of Mastercard during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $25,000. Palisade Asset Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Mastercard during the 1st quarter worth approximately $27,000. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL bought a new stake in shares of Mastercard during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $34,000. Fairway Wealth LLC bought a new stake in shares of Mastercard during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $35,000. Finally, Lowe Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Mastercard by 74.0% during the 3rd quarter. Lowe Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 87 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $43,000 after acquiring an additional 37 shares during the period. 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.