Mastercard (NYSE:MA) Stock Price Up 1.5% – Here’s What Happened

Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA)’s share price shot up 1.5% during mid-day trading on Wednesday . The company traded as high as $513.82 and last traded at $513.82. 881,094 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 64% from the average session volume of 2,418,300 shares. The stock had previously closed at $506.28.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts recently commented on the stock. Argus raised shares of Mastercard to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 1st. Susquehanna raised their price objective on shares of Mastercard from $535.00 to $540.00 and gave the company a “positive” rating in a report on Thursday, August 1st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on shares of Mastercard from $570.00 to $593.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, October 21st. TD Cowen increased their price target on Mastercard from $532.00 to $533.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 1st. Finally, William Blair raised shares of Mastercard to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 31st. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eighteen have given a buy rating and three have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $525.68.

Mastercard Stock Performance

The company has a quick ratio of 1.14, a current ratio of 1.14 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.95. The firm has a market cap of $476.36 billion, a P/E ratio of 39.28, a P/E/G ratio of 2.27 and a beta of 1.10. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $493.40 and a 200-day simple moving average of $465.94.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, July 31st. The credit services provider reported $3.59 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.51 by $0.08. Mastercard had a net margin of 46.45% and a return on equity of 179.78%. The firm had revenue of $6.96 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.85 billion. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Mastercard Incorporated will post 14.32 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Mastercard Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 8th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, October 9th will be paid a $0.66 dividend. This represents a $2.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.51%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, October 9th. Mastercard’s dividend payout ratio is currently 20.18%.

Insider Activity at Mastercard

In other news, major shareholder Foundation Mastercard sold 119,000 shares of Mastercard stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $468.46, for a total value 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. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. In related news, major shareholder Foundation Mastercard sold 119,000 shares of Mastercard 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 transaction, the insider now directly owns 92,033,308 shares in the company, valued at approximately $43,113,923,465.68. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CFO J. Mehra Sachin sold 13,439 shares of the business’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 value of $6,114,745.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 27,304 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $12,423,320. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 340,809 shares of company stock valued at $159,610,703 over the last ninety days. Insiders own 0.10% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Mastercard

Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Highline Wealth Partners LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Mastercard during the third quarter worth about $25,000. Palisade Asset Management LLC acquired a new position in Mastercard during the first quarter worth $27,000. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL acquired a new stake in Mastercard during the second quarter worth $34,000. Fairway Wealth LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Mastercard in the second quarter valued at $35,000. Finally, Lowe Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Mastercard by 74.0% in the 3rd 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 currently owned by institutional investors.

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.