Mastercard (NYSE:MA) Shares Up 0.9% – Time to Buy?

Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) shot up 0.9% during mid-day trading on Thursday . The company traded as high as $517.45 and last traded at $516.06. 2,456,664 shares traded hands during trading, an increase of 2% from the average session volume of 2,407,110 shares. The stock had previously closed at $511.40.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have issued reports on MA. Susquehanna lifted their price objective on Mastercard from $540.00 to $605.00 and gave the company a “positive” rating in a report on Friday, November 1st. Mizuho lifted their price target on Mastercard from $496.00 to $532.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, November 1st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price target on Mastercard from $593.00 to $580.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, November 1st. Barclays lifted their price target on Mastercard from $536.00 to $576.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, October 10th. Finally, Piper Sandler reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and issued a $575.00 price target (up from $565.00) on shares of Mastercard in a report on Friday, November 15th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-three have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Mastercard has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $562.76.

Mastercard Stock Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.36, a current ratio of 1.29 and a quick ratio of 1.29. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $523.81 and a 200-day simple moving average of $491.27. The stock has a market cap of $473.66 billion, a P/E ratio of 39.04, a PEG ratio of 2.36 and a beta of 1.10.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The credit services provider reported $3.89 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates 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 for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.27 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $3.39 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 12.8% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts forecast that Mastercard Incorporated will post 14.47 earnings per share for the current year.

Mastercard Increases Dividend

The business 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 positive change from Mastercard’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.66. This represents a $3.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.59%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, January 10th. Mastercard’s payout ratio is currently 23.00%.

Mastercard declared that its board has approved a share buyback program on Tuesday, December 17th that authorizes the company to repurchase $12.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the credit services provider to purchase up to 2.5% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are typically an indication that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Mastercard

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Highline Wealth Partners LLC acquired a new position in Mastercard in the third quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL acquired a new position in Mastercard in the second quarter valued at approximately $34,000. Fairway Wealth LLC acquired a new position in Mastercard in the second quarter valued at approximately $35,000. First Personal Financial Services acquired a new position in Mastercard in the third quarter valued at approximately $39,000. Finally, Lowe Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Mastercard by 74.0% in the third quarter. Lowe Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 87 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $43,000 after buying an additional 37 shares during the period. 97.28% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.