Royal Bank of Canada Forecasts Strong Price Appreciation for Mastercard (NYSE:MA) Stock

Mastercard (NYSE:MA) had its price target boosted by stock analysts at Royal Bank of Canada from $572.00 to $650.00 in a note issued to investors on Friday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage presently has an “outperform” rating on the credit services provider’s stock. Royal Bank of Canada’s price objective suggests a potential upside of 16.08% from the company’s current price.

A number of other brokerages have also recently commented on MA. Barclays lifted their price target on Mastercard from $536.00 to $576.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 10th. Seaport Res Ptn cut Mastercard from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 14th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on Mastercard from $590.00 to $610.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday. Citigroup raised their target price on Mastercard from $572.00 to $584.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 14th. Finally, Monness Crespi & Hardt raised shares of Mastercard from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $640.00 target price for the company in a research report on Friday. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-three have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $587.80.

Mastercard Price Performance

NYSE MA traded down $6.07 during trading on Friday, reaching $559.94. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 2,067,067 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,741,709. The stock has a market capitalization of $513.93 billion, a PE ratio of 42.36, a P/E/G ratio of 2.17 and a beta of 1.10. 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 firm has a fifty day moving average of $527.58 and a 200 day moving average of $500.25. Mastercard has a one year low of $428.86 and a one year high of $576.94.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The credit services provider reported $3.82 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.71 by $0.11. Mastercard had a net margin of 45.26% and a return on equity of 178.27%. Analysts expect that Mastercard will post 14.47 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Mastercard declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a share buyback plan on Tuesday, December 17th that authorizes the company to buyback $12.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the credit services provider to buy up to 2.5% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are generally a sign that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Mastercard

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Temasek Holdings Private Ltd raised its holdings in shares of Mastercard by 2.3% during the third quarter. Temasek Holdings Private Ltd now owns 2,805,554 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $1,385,383,000 after acquiring an additional 62,891 shares during the last quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB grew its stake in Mastercard by 15.6% during the 4th quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 2,510,756 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $1,325,353,000 after acquiring an additional 337,905 shares in the last quarter. Cardano Risk Management B.V. grew its stake in Mastercard by 2.7% during the 4th quarter. Cardano Risk Management B.V. now owns 368,690 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $194,141,000 after acquiring an additional 9,611 shares in the last quarter. Sarasin & Partners LLP grew 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 acquiring an additional 37,486 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its position in shares of Mastercard by 2.0% during the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 5,010,430 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $2,474,151,000 after acquiring an additional 100,550 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 97.28% of the company’s stock.

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.