Mastercard (NYSE:MA) Upgraded to Buy at DZ Bank

DZ Bank upgraded shares of Mastercard (NYSE:MA) from a hold rating to a buy rating in a research note released on Tuesday, Marketbeat Ratings reports. They currently have $620.00 price target on the credit services provider’s stock.

MA has been the topic of several other reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on Mastercard from $590.00 to $610.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Susquehanna lifted their price target on shares of Mastercard from $605.00 to $670.00 and gave the stock a “positive” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price objective on shares of Mastercard from $590.00 to $610.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, December 9th. Citigroup raised their target price on shares of Mastercard from $584.00 to $650.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, BMO Capital Markets boosted their target price on shares of Mastercard from $550.00 to $565.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 14th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-four have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $603.08.

Mastercard Stock Up 0.1 %

Shares of Mastercard stock opened at $567.12 on Tuesday. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $530.33 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $503.85. The stock has a market capitalization of $520.52 billion, a PE ratio of 40.83, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.23 and a beta of 1.10. Mastercard has a 52-week low of $428.86 and a 52-week high of $576.94. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.68, a quick ratio of 1.29 and a current ratio of 1.03.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 30th. The credit services provider reported $3.82 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.71 by $0.11. Mastercard had a return on equity of 188.47% and a net margin of 45.71%. On average, analysts anticipate that Mastercard will post 16.04 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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

Mastercard Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 7th. Investors of record on Thursday, January 9th will be given a dividend of $0.76 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, January 10th. This represents a $3.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.54%. This is a boost from Mastercard’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.66. Mastercard’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 21.89%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Temasek Holdings Private Ltd boosted its position 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 worth $1,385,383,000 after acquiring an additional 62,891 shares during the last quarter. Cardano Risk Management B.V. lifted its stake in Mastercard by 2.7% in the 4th quarter. Cardano Risk Management B.V. now owns 368,690 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $194,141,000 after purchasing an additional 9,611 shares in the last quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB boosted its holdings in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 337,905 shares during the last quarter. Sarasin & Partners LLP grew its position in shares of Mastercard by 4.7% during the third quarter. Sarasin & Partners LLP now owns 831,942 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $410,813,000 after purchasing an additional 37,486 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Mastercard by 2.0% in the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 5,010,430 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $2,474,151,000 after purchasing an additional 100,550 shares during the last quarter. 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.