Evercore ISI Initiates Coverage on Mastercard (NYSE:MA)

Equities research analysts at Evercore ISI initiated coverage on shares of Mastercard (NYSE:MA) in a report issued on Wednesday, Marketbeat Ratings reports. The brokerage set an “in-line” rating and a $550.00 price target on the credit services provider’s stock. Evercore ISI’s target price points to a potential upside of 10.01% from the stock’s previous close.

Other analysts also recently issued reports about the company. Susquehanna increased their target price on Mastercard from $605.00 to $670.00 and gave the company a “positive” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Macquarie lifted their price objective on Mastercard from $565.00 to $645.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. KeyCorp boosted their target price on Mastercard from $600.00 to $630.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on shares of Mastercard from $590.00 to $610.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Oppenheimer decreased their price objective on shares of Mastercard from $591.00 to $588.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, December 19th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-three have issued a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Mastercard currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $607.96.

Mastercard Price Performance

MA opened at $499.96 on Wednesday. Mastercard has a 1 year low of $428.86 and a 1 year high of $582.23. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $543.80 and a 200-day moving average price of $528.13. The firm has a market cap of $455.81 billion, a PE ratio of 35.99, a P/E/G ratio of 2.37 and a beta of 1.06. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.68, a current ratio of 1.03 and a quick ratio of 1.03.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA) last issued 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 45.71% and a return on equity of 188.47%. Sell-side analysts predict that Mastercard will post 15.91 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Mastercard announced that its board has approved a share buyback plan on Tuesday, December 17th that allows the company to buyback $12.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the credit services provider to purchase up to 2.5% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are typically an indication that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Activity

In other Mastercard news, insider Edward Grunde Mclaughlin sold 7,132 shares of Mastercard stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $534.68, for a total value of $3,813,337.76. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 34,524 shares in the company, valued at approximately $18,459,292.32. The trade was a 17.12 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CEO Michael Miebach sold 15,775 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $550.16, for a total transaction of $8,678,774.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 84,871 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $46,692,629.36. This trade represents a 15.67 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.10% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Mastercard

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Breakwater Capital Group raised its holdings in shares of Mastercard by 6.3% during the 1st quarter. Breakwater Capital Group now owns 1,142 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $626,000 after acquiring an additional 68 shares in the last quarter. Retireful LLC bought a new stake in Mastercard in the first quarter worth $276,000. Chatham Capital Group Inc. raised its stake in Mastercard by 1.3% during the first quarter. Chatham Capital Group Inc. now owns 5,917 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $3,243,000 after purchasing an additional 77 shares in the last quarter. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. lifted its position in Mastercard by 25.8% during the first quarter. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. now owns 3,638 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $1,996,000 after purchasing an additional 747 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Boltwood Capital Management grew its stake in shares of Mastercard by 7.3% in the 1st quarter. Boltwood Capital Management now owns 2,204 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $1,208,000 after buying an additional 149 shares in the last quarter. 97.28% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other 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.