Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) Receives Consensus Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from Brokerages

Shares of Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) have earned an average rating of “Moderate Buy” from the thirty-two analysts that are currently covering the company, MarketBeat.com reports. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation, twenty-four have given a buy recommendation and two have issued a strong buy recommendation on the company. The average 12 month target price among brokerages that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $610.00.

A number of analysts recently weighed in on the company. The Goldman Sachs Group restated a “buy” rating and issued a $633.00 price target on shares of Mastercard in a research note on Wednesday, April 2nd. Tigress Financial restated a “strong-buy” rating on shares of Mastercard in a research report on Monday, March 10th. Monness Crespi & Hardt downgraded shares of Mastercard from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 9th. Macquarie decreased their price objective on shares of Mastercard from $645.00 to $610.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, May 2nd. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group upped their target price on shares of Mastercard from $630.00 to $655.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 27th.

Insider Activity

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

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Mastercard

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of MA. Whalerock Point Partners LLC raised its stake in shares of Mastercard by 1.3% in the 4th quarter. Whalerock Point Partners LLC now owns 14,678 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $7,729,000 after acquiring an additional 185 shares during the period. Dock Street Asset Management Inc. increased its holdings in Mastercard by 4.5% in the 4th quarter. Dock Street Asset Management Inc. now owns 68,237 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $35,932,000 after purchasing an additional 2,931 shares in the last quarter. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC raised its position in Mastercard by 1.7% in the fourth quarter. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC now owns 71,862 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $37,841,000 after purchasing an additional 1,194 shares during the period. Avestar Capital LLC lifted its stake in shares of Mastercard by 10.9% during the fourth quarter. Avestar Capital LLC now owns 5,612 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $2,955,000 after purchasing an additional 550 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Baldwin Investment Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Mastercard by 5.7% in the fourth quarter. Baldwin Investment Management LLC now owns 1,731 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $911,000 after buying an additional 93 shares during the period. 97.28% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Mastercard Trading Up 0.2%

Shares of Mastercard stock opened at $582.27 on Wednesday. Mastercard has a 52-week low of $428.86 and a 52-week high of $588.45. The company has a quick ratio of 1.03, a current ratio of 1.03 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.68. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $545.06 and its 200-day simple moving average is $540.50. The firm has a market cap of $530.86 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 41.92, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.37 and a beta of 1.06.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 1st. The credit services provider reported $3.73 earnings per share for the quarter, beating 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 analyst estimates of $7.12 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $3.31 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 14.2% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Mastercard will post 15.91 earnings per share for the current year.

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.