Mastercard (NYSE:MA) Trading Up 1.6% – What’s Next?

Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) shares shot up 1.6% during trading on Friday . The stock traded as high as $526.46 and last traded at $526.33. 341,666 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 86% from the average session volume of 2,443,033 shares. The stock had previously closed at $517.88.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

MA has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Piper Sandler reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $565.00 price objective (up from $536.00) on shares of Mastercard in a research report on Friday, November 1st. Robert W. Baird increased their price target on Mastercard from $545.00 to $575.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 16th. Oppenheimer initiated coverage on shares of Mastercard in a research note on Tuesday, October 1st. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $591.00 price objective on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada raised their target price on shares of Mastercard from $500.00 to $526.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 1st. Finally, Mizuho boosted their price target on shares of Mastercard from $496.00 to $532.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty have assigned a buy rating and three have issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Mastercard presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $540.17.

Mastercard Price Performance

The company has a market capitalization of $484.79 billion, a PE ratio of 39.81, a PEG ratio of 2.21 and a beta of 1.10. The company has a current ratio of 1.29, a quick ratio of 1.29 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.36. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $498.11 and its 200-day moving average price is $468.02.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The credit services provider reported $3.89 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.73 by $0.16. The company had revenue of $7.37 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.27 billion. Mastercard had a return on equity of 178.27% and a net margin of 45.26%. The firm’s revenue was up 12.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $3.39 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Mastercard Incorporated will post 14.45 earnings per share for the current fiscal 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 paid a dividend of $0.66 per share. This represents a $2.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.50%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, October 9th. Mastercard’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 19.97%.

Insider Activity

In other Mastercard news, major shareholder Foundation Mastercard sold 119,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the insider now directly owns 92,033,308 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $43,113,923,465.68. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In other news, CMO Venkata R. Madabhushi sold 4,685 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, September 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $489.86, for a total transaction of $2,294,994.10. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief marketing officer now owns 15,031 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,363,085.66. 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 can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, major shareholder Foundation Mastercard sold 119,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 approximately $43,113,923,465.68. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 327,370 shares of company stock worth $153,495,958 over the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 0.10% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Mastercard

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in MA. Sarasin & Partners LLP increased its stake in Mastercard by 4.7% during the 3rd quarter. Sarasin & Partners LLP now owns 831,942 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $410,813,000 after buying an additional 37,486 shares during the period. Coppell Advisory Solutions Corp. acquired a new stake in Mastercard in the 1st quarter valued at about $608,000. SteelPeak Wealth LLC boosted its position in shares of Mastercard by 48.6% during the 2nd quarter. SteelPeak Wealth LLC now owns 4,928 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $2,174,000 after purchasing an additional 1,612 shares in the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of Mastercard by 4.8% in the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 3,031,915 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $1,497,160,000 after purchasing an additional 138,842 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Susquehanna Fundamental Investments LLC bought a new stake in shares of Mastercard in the 1st quarter worth approximately $2,938,000. 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.