Mastercard (NYSE:MA) Earns Overweight Rating from Piper Sandler

Mastercard (NYSE:MA)‘s stock had its “overweight” rating reissued by investment analysts at Piper Sandler in a report released on Friday,Benzinga reports. They presently have a $635.00 target price on the credit services provider’s stock, up from their previous target price of $591.00. Piper Sandler’s price target would suggest a potential upside of 12.83% from the company’s previous close.

MA has been the subject of several other research reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price target on shares of Mastercard from $593.00 to $580.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, November 1st. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised their price target on Mastercard from $510.00 to $580.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, November 1st. UBS Group upped their price objective on Mastercard from $590.00 to $610.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 14th. Robert W. Baird raised their target price on Mastercard from $545.00 to $575.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 16th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $572.00 price target on shares of Mastercard in a report on Thursday, November 14th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-three have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $584.68.

Mastercard Stock Down 0.6 %

MA traded down $3.23 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $562.78. 1,929,943 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,735,512. The company has a current ratio of 1.29, a quick ratio of 1.29 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.36. Mastercard has a 12-month low of $428.86 and a 12-month high of $576.94. The firm has a market cap of $516.54 billion, a P/E ratio of 42.61, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.17 and a beta of 1.10. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $527.58 and a 200 day moving average of $500.25.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA) last released its earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The credit services provider reported $3.82 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.71 by $0.11. Mastercard had a return on equity of 178.27% and a net margin of 45.26%. Analysts predict that Mastercard will post 14.47 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Mastercard announced that its Board of Directors has approved a share buyback plan on Tuesday, December 17th that permits the company to repurchase $12.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization permits the credit services provider to reacquire up to 2.5% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are usually an indication that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Mastercard

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of MA. Highline Wealth Partners LLC acquired a new position in Mastercard during the third quarter worth $25,000. First Personal Financial Services acquired a new position in shares of Mastercard during the 3rd quarter worth $39,000. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Mastercard in the third quarter valued at about $55,000. Lowe Wealth Advisors LLC grew its position in Mastercard by 24.1% during the fourth quarter. Lowe Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 108 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $57,000 after buying an additional 21 shares during the period. Finally, FSA Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Mastercard during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $54,000. 97.28% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other 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.