Mastercard (NYSE:MA) Downgraded to “Hold” Rating by Wall Street Zen

Mastercard (NYSE:MA) was downgraded by Wall Street Zen from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note issued on Sunday.

A number of other equities research analysts have also weighed in on MA. Cowen restated a “buy” rating on shares of Mastercard in a report on Friday, October 31st. Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Mastercard in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. Robert W. Baird lifted their target price on Mastercard from $640.00 to $660.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, October 6th. Hsbc Global Res upgraded Mastercard from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday, December 8th. Finally, Evercore ISI set a $610.00 price objective on Mastercard in a research note on Friday. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-two have issued a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $654.81.

Mastercard Stock Performance

NYSE MA opened at $571.40 on Friday. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $554.16 and a 200 day simple moving average of $566.39. Mastercard has a 12-month low of $465.59 and a 12-month high of $601.77. The company has a current ratio of 1.12, a quick ratio of 1.12 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.40. The company has a market cap of $513.12 billion, a P/E ratio of 36.53, a PEG ratio of 2.25 and a beta of 0.87.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 30th. The credit services provider reported $4.38 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $4.31 by $0.07. The firm had revenue of $8.60 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $8.53 billion. Mastercard had a net margin of 45.28% and a return on equity of 202.03%. The business’s revenue was up 16.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $3.89 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts predict that Mastercard will post 15.91 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Mastercard

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in MA. Saranac Partners Ltd purchased a new stake in shares of Mastercard during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $8,160,000. IFP Advisors Inc lifted its holdings in shares of Mastercard by 6.5% during the 3rd quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 17,153 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $9,759,000 after acquiring an additional 1,051 shares during the last quarter. Swiss Life Asset Management Ltd increased its position in shares of Mastercard by 8.2% during the 3rd quarter. Swiss Life Asset Management Ltd now owns 222,928 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $126,804,000 after purchasing an additional 16,844 shares during the last quarter. Stillwater Wealth Management Group bought a new position in Mastercard during the third quarter valued at approximately $248,000. Finally, Groupama Asset Managment raised its position in Mastercard by 7.7% in the 3rd quarter. Groupama Asset Managment now owns 15,419 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $8,770,000 after purchasing an additional 1,103 shares during the period. 97.28% of the stock is currently owned by 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.