Mastercard (NYSE:MA) Price Target Raised to $655.00 at Jefferies Financial Group

Mastercard (NYSE:MA) had its price objective lifted by Jefferies Financial Group from $630.00 to $655.00 in a research report released on Tuesday,Benzinga reports. They currently have a buy rating on the credit services provider’s stock.

MA has been the topic of a number of other research reports. Evercore ISI assumed coverage on Mastercard in a research note on Wednesday, April 9th. They issued an “in-line” rating and a $550.00 price target on the stock. Morgan Stanley reduced their target price on Mastercard from $654.00 to $644.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, January 31st. Royal Bank of Canada raised their price objective on Mastercard from $572.00 to $650.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. UBS Group reduced their price objective on Mastercard from $660.00 to $640.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, May 2nd. Finally, William Blair reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of Mastercard in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-three have assigned a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $607.86.

Mastercard Trading Up 1.9%

NYSE MA opened at $574.03 on Tuesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $523.35 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 41.33, a PEG ratio of 2.37 and a beta of 1.06. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $541.68 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $538.59. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.68, a quick ratio of 1.03 and a current ratio of 1.03. Mastercard has a 52 week low of $428.86 and a 52 week high of $588.45.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 1st. The credit services provider reported $3.73 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.57 by $0.16. Mastercard had a return on equity of 188.47% and a net margin of 45.71%. The company had revenue of $7.25 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $7.12 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $3.31 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 14.2% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts anticipate that Mastercard will post 15.91 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Mastercard

In other Mastercard news, insider Sandra A. Arkell sold 150 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $569.45, for a total value of $85,417.50. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 3,555 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,024,394.75. This trade represents a 4.05% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Michael Miebach sold 15,775 shares of Mastercard stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $550.16, for a total value of $8,678,774.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 84,871 shares in the company, valued at approximately $46,692,629.36. The trade was a 15.67% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 23,207 shares of company stock valued at $12,664,529. Company insiders own 0.10% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of MA. NewSquare Capital LLC bought a new stake in Mastercard during the fourth quarter worth $26,000. Flaharty Asset Management LLC bought a new stake in Mastercard during the first quarter worth $27,000. Marshall Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in Mastercard during the fourth quarter worth $30,000. Measured Risk Portfolios Inc. bought a new stake in Mastercard during the fourth quarter worth $31,000. Finally, Keystone Global Partners LLC bought a new stake in Mastercard during the first quarter worth $31,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 97.28% of the company’s stock.

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.