Mastercard (NYSE:MA) Stock Price Expected to Rise, Mizuho Analyst Says

Mastercard (NYSE:MA) had its price objective increased by analysts at Mizuho from $496.00 to $532.00 in a note issued to investors on Friday, Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has an “outperform” rating on the credit services provider’s stock. Mizuho’s price objective points to a potential upside of 4.36% from the stock’s previous close.

Other analysts have also issued research reports about the stock. Susquehanna raised their price target on shares of Mastercard from $540.00 to $605.00 and gave the company a “positive” rating in a report on Friday. Citigroup lifted their target price on Mastercard from $528.00 to $538.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 1st. Argus raised Mastercard to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 1st. Oppenheimer initiated coverage on shares of Mastercard in a research report on Tuesday, October 1st. They set an “outperform” rating and a $591.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Bank of America raised their price target on Mastercard from $480.00 to $509.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 17th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nineteen have issued a buy rating and three have issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $536.74.

Mastercard Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:MA traded up $10.17 during trading on Friday, hitting $509.76. 2,237,217 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,443,045. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $494.93 and its 200-day simple moving average is $466.50. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.95, a quick ratio of 1.14 and a current ratio of 1.14. The company has a market capitalization of $470.94 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 38.93, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.27 and a beta of 1.10. Mastercard has a 1-year low of $378.48 and a 1-year high of $527.90.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The credit services provider reported $3.89 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.73 by $0.16. Mastercard had a net margin of 46.45% and a return on equity of 179.78%. The business had revenue of $7.37 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.27 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $3.39 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 12.8% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts expect that Mastercard will post 14.33 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Mastercard

In other Mastercard news, CFO J. Mehra Sachin sold 13,439 shares of the business’s 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 transaction, 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 ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. In related news, major shareholder Foundation Mastercard sold 119,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, August 16th. The stock was 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 in the company, valued at $43,113,923,465.68. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, CFO J. Mehra Sachin sold 13,439 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 in the company, valued at $12,423,320. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 340,809 shares of company stock worth $159,610,703. Insiders own 0.10% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Mastercard

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of MA. China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd. raised its stake in shares of Mastercard by 46.4% during the first quarter. China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 14,785 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $7,120,000 after acquiring an additional 4,685 shares during the last quarter. Greenwood Capital Associates LLC raised its position in Mastercard by 3.7% during the 1st quarter. Greenwood Capital Associates LLC now owns 679 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $327,000 after purchasing an additional 24 shares during the last quarter. Palisade Asset Management LLC acquired a new position in Mastercard during the 1st quarter worth about $27,000. Tobam grew its position in shares of Mastercard by 8.0% in the 1st quarter. Tobam now owns 1,730 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $833,000 after buying an additional 128 shares during the last quarter. Finally, BNP Paribas acquired a new stake in shares of Mastercard in the first quarter valued at about $10,604,000. 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.