Mastercard (NYSE:MA) Price Target Raised to $661.00

Mastercard (NYSE:MA) had its price target raised by Morgan Stanley from $639.00 to $661.00 in a research report report published on Friday,Benzinga reports. Morgan Stanley currently has an overweight rating on the credit services provider’s stock.

MA has been the subject of a number of other research reports. UBS Group increased their price target on Mastercard from $660.00 to $670.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 3rd. Royal Bank Of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $650.00 price target on shares of Mastercard in a research note on Tuesday, July 15th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft started coverage on Mastercard in a research note on Thursday, July 17th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $650.00 price target for the company. Wall Street Zen upgraded Mastercard from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, July 18th. Finally, Monness Crespi & Hardt lowered Mastercard from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 9th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-five have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $615.33.

Mastercard Price Performance

Shares of Mastercard stock opened at $559.73 on Friday. Mastercard has a one year low of $439.59 and a one year high of $594.71. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $564.58 and its 200 day moving average is $552.15. The stock has a market cap of $510.31 billion, a P/E ratio of 37.74, a P/E/G ratio of 2.41 and a beta of 1.03. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.41, a quick ratio of 1.16 and a current ratio of 1.16.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, July 31st. The credit services provider reported $4.15 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.05 by $0.10. Mastercard had a return on equity of 200.01% and a net margin of 44.93%. The company had revenue of $8.13 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $7.95 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $3.50 EPS. Mastercard’s revenue for the quarter was up 16.8% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Mastercard will post 15.91 earnings per share for the current year.

Mastercard Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 8th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, July 9th will be issued a $0.76 dividend. This represents a $3.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.5%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, July 9th. Mastercard’s payout ratio is currently 21.32%.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Linda Pistecchia Kirkpatrick sold 959 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, June 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $572.86, for a total transaction of $549,372.74. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 25,540 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $14,630,844.40. The trade was a 3.62% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider Raj Seshadri sold 1,100 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, June 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $546.77, for a total transaction of $601,447.00. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 12,921 shares in the company, valued at $7,064,815.17. This trade represents a 7.85% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 38,753 shares of company stock valued at $20,351,084 over the last three months. Company insiders own 0.09% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in MA. Brighton Jones LLC raised its position in shares of Mastercard by 42.3% during the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 6,824 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $3,594,000 after purchasing an additional 2,028 shares during the last quarter. Bank Pictet & Cie Europe AG raised its position in shares of Mastercard by 11.8% during the 4th quarter. Bank Pictet & Cie Europe AG now owns 70,472 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $37,108,000 after purchasing an additional 7,452 shares during the last quarter. Mascagni Wealth Management Inc. acquired a new stake in Mastercard in the 4th quarter valued at about $73,000. Trustco Bank Corp N Y acquired a new stake in Mastercard in the 4th quarter valued at about $211,000. Finally, Arete Wealth Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Mastercard by 15.6% in the 4th quarter. Arete Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 4,061 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $2,140,000 after acquiring an additional 548 shares during the last quarter. 97.28% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.