Mastercard (NYSE:MA) Given New $478.00 Price Target at Mizuho

Mastercard (NYSE:MA) had its price objective cut by Mizuho from $480.00 to $478.00 in a report released on Thursday, Benzinga reports. They currently have a buy rating on the credit services provider’s stock.

Other equities research analysts also recently issued research reports about the stock. William Blair reiterated an outperform rating on shares of Mastercard in a research note on Wednesday, January 31st. Raymond James lifted their price objective on Mastercard from $452.00 to $504.00 and gave the company an outperform rating in a report on Thursday, February 1st. Susquehanna reissued a positive rating and issued a $535.00 target price on shares of Mastercard in a report on Wednesday, April 3rd. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on Mastercard from $490.00 to $530.00 and gave the company an overweight rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 6th. Finally, Robert W. Baird increased their price objective on Mastercard from $525.00 to $545.00 and gave the stock an outperform rating in a research note on Thursday, April 18th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-two have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Mastercard has an average rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus price target of $493.55.

Mastercard Trading Up 0.6 %

Shares of NYSE:MA opened at $443.61 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.86, a quick ratio of 1.17 and a current ratio of 1.09. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $470.17 and its 200-day moving average is $437.44. The company has a market cap of $413.84 billion, a P/E ratio of 35.26, a P/E/G ratio of 1.71 and a beta of 1.08. Mastercard has a 52-week low of $357.85 and a 52-week high of $490.00.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 1st. The credit services provider reported $3.31 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.22 by $0.09. Mastercard had a net margin of 46.09% and a return on equity of 183.70%. The business had revenue of $6.35 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.34 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $2.80 earnings per share. Mastercard’s quarterly revenue was up 10.4% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts predict that Mastercard will post 14.32 earnings per share for the current year.

Mastercard Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 9th. Investors of record on Tuesday, April 9th will be given a $0.66 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, April 8th. This represents a $2.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.60%. Mastercard’s dividend payout ratio is currently 20.99%.

Insider Activity at Mastercard

In other news, CMO Venkata R. Madabhushi sold 16,037 shares of Mastercard stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $475.94, for a total value of $7,632,649.78. Following the sale, the chief marketing officer now directly owns 12,255 shares in the company, valued at $5,832,644.70. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In other Mastercard news, major shareholder Foundation Mastercard sold 116,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $445.04, for a total value of $51,624,640.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 96,651,308 shares in the company, valued at $43,013,698,112.32. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CMO Venkata R. Madabhushi sold 16,037 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $475.94, for a total value of $7,632,649.78. Following the transaction, the chief marketing officer now directly owns 12,255 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,832,644.70. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 583,088 shares of company stock valued at $266,873,978. 0.13% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Mastercard

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Coulter & Justus Financial Services LLC acquired a new position in shares of Mastercard in the first quarter valued at $331,000. DAVENPORT & Co LLC lifted its position in Mastercard by 0.4% during the first quarter. DAVENPORT & Co LLC now owns 303,795 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $145,871,000 after acquiring an additional 1,077 shares during the last quarter. Team Hewins LLC grew its position in shares of Mastercard by 0.8% in the first quarter. Team Hewins LLC now owns 7,382 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $3,555,000 after purchasing an additional 57 shares during the last quarter. Commonwealth Retirement Investments LLC increased its stake in shares of Mastercard by 3.2% during the first quarter. Commonwealth Retirement Investments LLC now owns 2,710 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $1,305,000 after purchasing an additional 85 shares during the period. Finally, Paulson Wealth Management Inc. lifted its holdings in Mastercard by 43.8% during the 1st quarter. Paulson Wealth Management Inc. now owns 982 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $473,000 after purchasing an additional 299 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.