Mastercard’s (MA) “Outperform” Rating Reaffirmed at William Blair

William Blair reiterated their outperform rating on shares of Mastercard (NYSE:MA) in a report issued on Monday,RTT News reports.

MA has been the topic of several other reports. Macquarie raised their price objective on Mastercard from $505.00 to $565.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, November 1st. UBS Group upped their price objective on shares of Mastercard from $590.00 to $610.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 14th. Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on shares of Mastercard from $544.00 to $564.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 14th. Oppenheimer began coverage on shares of Mastercard in a report on Tuesday, October 1st. They set an “outperform” rating and a $591.00 price target for the company. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $572.00 price target on shares of Mastercard in a research note on Thursday, November 14th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-two have given a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $549.16.

Mastercard Price Performance

MA stock opened at $526.60 on Monday. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $507.49 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $474.33. Mastercard has a 12 month low of $404.32 and a 12 month high of $534.03. The company has a quick ratio of 1.29, a current ratio of 1.29 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.36. The firm has a market cap of $483.33 billion, a P/E ratio of 39.83, a P/E/G ratio of 2.32 and a beta of 1.10.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 31st. The credit services provider reported $3.89 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.73 by $0.16. The business had revenue of $7.37 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.27 billion. Mastercard had a net margin of 45.26% and a return on equity of 178.27%. The company’s revenue was up 12.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $3.39 earnings per share. On average, analysts anticipate that Mastercard will post 14.47 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Mastercard Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 8th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, October 9th were issued a dividend of $0.66 per share. This represents a $2.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.50%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, October 9th. Mastercard’s payout ratio is 19.97%.

Insider Transactions at Mastercard

In related news, CMO Venkata R. Madabhushi sold 4,685 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, September 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $489.86, for a total transaction of $2,294,994.10. Following the transaction, the chief marketing officer now directly owns 15,031 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,363,085.66. This represents a 23.76 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.10% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Mastercard

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Highline Wealth Partners LLC purchased a new stake in Mastercard in the third quarter worth $25,000. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL bought a new position in shares of Mastercard in the second quarter worth $34,000. Fairway Wealth LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Mastercard in the 2nd quarter valued at about $35,000. First Personal Financial Services purchased a new stake in Mastercard in the third quarter valued at approximately $39,000. Finally, Lowe Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Mastercard by 74.0% during the third quarter. Lowe Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 87 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $43,000 after purchasing an additional 37 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 97.28% of the company’s stock.

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.