Mastercard (NYSE:MA) Stock Price Target Raised at UBS Group

Mastercard (NYSE:MA) had its price objective lifted by UBS Group from $670.00 to $750.00 in a report issued on Friday,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has a buy rating on the credit services provider’s stock.

Several other research analysts have also weighed in on MA. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on Mastercard from $720.00 to $755.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday. Argus raised their price objective on Mastercard from $640.00 to $694.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday. Susquehanna raised their price objective on Mastercard from $665.00 to $740.00 and gave the stock a “positive” rating in a research report on Friday. Clear Str raised Mastercard to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 16th. Finally, Morgan Stanley upped their target price on Mastercard from $679.00 to $681.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, July 31st. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty have assigned a Buy rating, one has issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $702.91.

Mastercard Trading Up 0.1%

NYSE MA opened at $638.50 on Friday. Mastercard has a twelve month low of $464.52 and a twelve month high of $644.24. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.29, a quick ratio of 1.01 and a current ratio of 1.01. The stock has a market cap of $559.33 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.39, a PEG ratio of 1.81 and a beta of 0.78. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $586.79 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $536.21.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA) last released its earnings results on Thursday, October 29th. The credit services provider reported $5.31 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.17 by $0.14. The company had revenue of $9.81 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $9.66 billion. Mastercard had a return on equity of 260.86% and a net margin of 46.73%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 14.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $4.38 earnings per share. Equities analysts anticipate that Mastercard will post 19.96 EPS for the current year.

Mastercard Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, November 9th. Stockholders of record on Friday, October 9th will be paid a dividend of $0.87 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, October 9th. This represents a $3.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.5%. Mastercard’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 18.20%.

Insider Activity at Mastercard

In related news, insider Linda Kirkpatrick sold 4,280 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $570.31, for a total value of $2,440,926.80. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 31,179 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $17,781,695.49. The trade was a 12.07% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CEO Michael Miebach sold 15,372 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $575.00, for a total value of $8,838,900.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 93,693 shares in the company, valued at $53,873,475. This represents a 14.09% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Over the last three months, insiders sold 39,420 shares of company stock worth $22,882,963. 0.09% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Mastercard

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in MA. State Street Corp grew its holdings in shares of Mastercard by 1.3% in the 2nd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 36,964,305 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $18,984,867,000 after purchasing an additional 486,283 shares during the last quarter. Jennison Associates LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Mastercard by 10.4% during the 1st quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 5,123,041 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $2,559,779,000 after purchasing an additional 480,725 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its holdings in shares of Mastercard by 1.0% during the 1st quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 4,225,359 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $2,111,216,000 after purchasing an additional 42,871 shares in the last quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership grew its position in shares of Mastercard by 17.8% in the 1st quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 3,666,018 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $1,831,763,000 after purchasing an additional 554,366 shares during the period. Finally, Amundi boosted its stake in shares of Mastercard by 5.8% during the 2nd quarter. Amundi now owns 3,626,416 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $1,862,527,000 after acquiring an additional 199,424 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 97.28% of the company’s stock.

Mastercard News Roundup

Here are the key news stories impacting Mastercard this week:

• Positive Sentiment: UBS Group raised its Mastercard price target from $670 to $750 and upgraded the stock to “Buy.” The new target implies approximately 17.5% upside from the referenced $638.50 share price. UBS Group Mastercard rating information
• Positive Sentiment: Cantor Fitzgerald increased its target from $695 to $765 and assigned an “Overweight” rating, implying approximately 19.8% upside from the referenced share price. Cantor Fitzgerald Mastercard rating information
• Positive Sentiment: Additional analysts raised their Mastercard targets to $742, $726, $700 and $740, reinforcing a favorable view of the payments company’s growth prospects. Mastercard price target raised to $742 Mastercard price target raised to $726
• Positive Sentiment: JPMorgan Chase and Wells Fargo analysts also forecast strong appreciation for Mastercard shares, adding to the positive sell-side momentum. JPMorgan Mastercard outlook Wells Fargo Mastercard outlook

About Mastercard

Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE: MA) is a global payments technology company that operates a network connecting consumers, financial institutions, merchants, governments and businesses. The company facilitates electronic payments and provides technology that supports transactions conducted through credit, debit, prepaid and commercial payment products.

In addition to operating its payments network, Mastercard offers services in areas such as payment security, fraud prevention, authentication, cybersecurity, data and analytics, loyalty programs, digital identity and open banking.