Mastercard (NYSE:MA) Stock Price Down 0.5% – What’s Next?

Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA)’s stock price fell 0.5% during mid-day trading on Monday . The company traded as low as $516.00 and last traded at $518.51. 907,051 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 48% from the average session volume of 1,751,365 shares. The stock had previously closed at $521.36.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

MA has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Barclays upped their price target on shares of Mastercard from $536.00 to $576.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, October 10th. Jefferies Financial Group raised their target price on shares of Mastercard from $590.00 to $610.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, December 9th. William Blair reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of Mastercard in a report on Monday, November 25th. Susquehanna raised 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. Finally, TD Cowen boosted their target price on Mastercard from $533.00 to $567.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, November 15th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-three have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $562.76.

Mastercard Stock Up 0.9 %

The company has a current ratio of 1.29, a quick ratio of 1.29 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.36. The firm has a market capitalization of $473.66 billion, a P/E ratio of 39.04, a P/E/G ratio of 2.36 and a beta of 1.10. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $523.76 and its 200-day simple moving average is $491.10.

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

Mastercard Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 7th. Investors of record on Thursday, January 9th will be paid a $0.76 dividend. This is a boost from Mastercard’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.66. This represents a $3.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.59%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, January 10th. Mastercard’s payout ratio is currently 23.00%.

Mastercard announced that its board has initiated a stock repurchase plan 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 buy up to 2.5% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are typically an indication that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Mastercard

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Goldstein Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Mastercard by 1.3% in the third quarter. Goldstein Advisors LLC now owns 1,516 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $749,000 after acquiring an additional 20 shares in the last quarter. Community Bank N.A. boosted its stake in Mastercard by 0.9% during the 3rd quarter. Community Bank N.A. now owns 2,190 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $1,081,000 after purchasing an additional 20 shares during the last quarter. Raab & Moskowitz Asset Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Mastercard by 1.5% during the third quarter. Raab & Moskowitz Asset Management LLC now owns 1,398 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $690,000 after buying an additional 20 shares in the last quarter. Boltwood Capital Management raised its position in shares of Mastercard by 1.0% in the fourth quarter. Boltwood Capital Management now owns 2,055 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $1,082,000 after buying an additional 20 shares during the last quarter. Finally, McLean Asset Management Corp lifted its stake in shares of Mastercard by 1.3% in the third quarter. McLean Asset Management Corp now owns 1,677 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $834,000 after buying an additional 21 shares in the last quarter. 97.28% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.