Mastercard (NYSE:MA) Shares Up 0.2% – Here’s Why

Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA)’s stock price shot up 0.2% during trading on Wednesday . The stock traded as high as $514.38 and last traded at $513.96. 290,922 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 88% from the average session volume of 2,428,429 shares. The stock had previously closed at $513.02.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on MA shares. Piper Sandler raised their price objective on Mastercard from $531.00 to $536.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, August 2nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on shares of Mastercard from $570.00 to $593.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday. BMO Capital Markets reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $520.00 price objective on shares of Mastercard in a research note on Wednesday, August 14th. Susquehanna raised their target price on shares of Mastercard from $535.00 to $540.00 and gave the company a “positive” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 1st. Finally, Argus raised shares of Mastercard to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 1st. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eighteen have issued a buy rating and three have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $525.68.

Mastercard Price Performance

The company has a market cap of $476.89 billion, a P/E ratio of 40.86, a P/E/G ratio of 2.22 and a beta of 1.10. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $489.16 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $464.58. 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 announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 31st. The credit services provider reported $3.59 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.51 by $0.08. Mastercard had a return on equity of 179.78% and a net margin of 46.45%. The firm had revenue of $6.96 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.85 billion. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Mastercard Incorporated will post 14.3 earnings per share for the current year.

Mastercard Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 8th. Investors of record on Wednesday, October 9th will be given a dividend of $0.66 per share. This represents a $2.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.51%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, October 9th. Mastercard’s dividend payout ratio is currently 20.99%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, 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 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 sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other Mastercard news, CMO Venkata R. Madabhushi sold 4,685 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, September 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $493.10, for a total transaction of $2,310,173.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief marketing officer now directly owns 17,118 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,440,885.80. 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 this hyperlink. Also, major shareholder Foundation Mastercard sold 119,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 owns 92,033,308 shares in the company, valued at $43,113,923,465.68. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 340,809 shares of company stock valued at $159,610,703 over the last 90 days. 0.10% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Mastercard

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in MA. Palisade Asset Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Mastercard during the 1st quarter valued at about $27,000. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL acquired a new position in Mastercard in the second quarter worth approximately $34,000. Fairway Wealth LLC bought a new position in shares of Mastercard in the second quarter valued at $35,000. Lowe Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its position 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 valued at $43,000 after acquiring an additional 37 shares during the last quarter. Finally, VitalStone Financial LLC boosted its stake in shares of Mastercard by 55.0% during the 1st quarter. VitalStone Financial LLC now owns 93 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $45,000 after acquiring an additional 33 shares in the last quarter. 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.