Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) Given Consensus Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by Brokerages

Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) has received a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the thirty ratings firms that are presently covering the company, MarketBeat.com reports. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-four have issued a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. The average 1-year target price among brokers that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $606.11.

MA has been the topic of several research reports. Barclays upped their price objective on shares of Mastercard from $595.00 to $650.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on Mastercard from $585.00 to $625.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 4th. Susquehanna upped their target price on Mastercard from $605.00 to $670.00 and gave the stock a “positive” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. KeyCorp raised their price target on shares of Mastercard from $600.00 to $630.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Raymond James reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $640.00 target price (up from $614.00) on shares of Mastercard in a research report on Friday, January 31st.

Mastercard Stock Performance

MA opened at $544.74 on Friday. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $549.05 and a 200-day simple moving average of $525.90. The firm has a market cap of $496.64 billion, a PE ratio of 39.22, a P/E/G ratio of 2.37 and a beta of 1.10. Mastercard has a fifty-two week low of $428.86 and a fifty-two week high of $582.23. The company has a quick ratio of 1.03, a current ratio of 1.03 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.68.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA) last released its earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The credit services provider reported $3.82 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.71 by $0.11. Mastercard had a net margin of 45.71% and a return on equity of 188.47%. As a group, equities analysts predict that Mastercard will post 15.91 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Mastercard declared that its board has authorized a share repurchase program on Tuesday, December 17th that permits the company to buyback $12.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization permits the credit services provider to buy up to 2.5% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are generally an indication that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Mastercard Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 9th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, April 9th will be issued a $0.76 dividend. This represents a $3.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.56%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, April 9th. Mastercard’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 21.89%.

Insider Activity at Mastercard

In related news, insider Edward Grunde Mclaughlin sold 7,132 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $534.68, for a total value of $3,813,337.76. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 34,524 shares in the company, valued at approximately $18,459,292.32. This trade represents a 17.12 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. 0.10% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Mastercard

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in Mastercard during the fourth quarter worth about $6,022,224,000. Bank of Montreal Can boosted its holdings in shares of Mastercard by 51.7% in the 3rd quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 5,765,714 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $2,846,187,000 after purchasing an additional 1,965,782 shares in the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new position in shares of Mastercard in the 4th quarter valued at $837,017,000. Proficio Capital Partners LLC raised its holdings in shares of Mastercard by 79,739.7% during the 4th quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC now owns 1,555,277 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $818,962,000 after buying an additional 1,553,329 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Northern Trust Corp lifted its position in shares of Mastercard by 15.2% during the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 9,149,181 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $4,817,684,000 after buying an additional 1,207,787 shares during 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.