Mastercard (NYSE:MA) Shares Up 0.2% – Still a Buy?

Shares of Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) shot up 0.2% on Friday . The company traded as high as $514.73 and last traded at $511.81. 308,343 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 87% from the average session volume of 2,422,789 shares. The stock had previously closed at $510.62.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. BMO Capital Markets reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $520.00 target price on shares of Mastercard in a report on Wednesday, August 14th. Susquehanna raised their target price on shares of Mastercard from $535.00 to $540.00 and gave the stock a “positive” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 1st. Compass Point assumed coverage on Mastercard in a research report on Wednesday, September 4th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $525.00 price objective on the stock. Barclays upped their target price on Mastercard from $536.00 to $576.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, October 10th. Finally, KeyCorp raised their price objective on shares of Mastercard from $490.00 to $515.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 1st. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eighteen have assigned a buy rating and three have given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $525.68.

Mastercard Stock Down 0.6 %

The stock has a market cap of $471.65 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 40.33, a PEG ratio of 2.27 and a beta of 1.10. The company has a quick ratio of 1.14, a current ratio of 1.14 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.95. The business’s fifty day moving average is $491.84 and its two-hundred day moving average is $465.39.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 31st. The credit services provider reported $3.59 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.51 by $0.08. Mastercard had a return on equity of 179.78% and a net margin of 46.45%. The business had revenue of $6.96 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.85 billion. Equities analysts forecast that Mastercard Incorporated will post 14.32 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Mastercard Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 8th. Investors of record on Wednesday, October 9th will be paid a $0.66 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, October 9th. This represents a $2.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.52%. Mastercard’s dividend payout ratio is currently 20.99%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Mastercard

In related news, CMO Venkata R. Madabhushi sold 4,685 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, September 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $493.10, for a total value of $2,310,173.50. Following the transaction, the chief marketing officer now owns 17,118 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,440,885.80. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. In other Mastercard news, CMO Venkata R. Madabhushi sold 4,685 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, September 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $493.10, for a total transaction of $2,310,173.50. Following the sale, the chief marketing officer now owns 17,118 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,440,885.80. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, major shareholder Foundation Mastercard sold 90,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $468.80, for a total transaction of $42,192,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 91,649,308 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $42,965,195,590.40. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 340,809 shares of company stock valued at $159,610,703. Insiders own 0.10% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in MA. First Trust Direct Indexing L.P. increased its holdings in shares of Mastercard by 14.2% in the 1st quarter. First Trust Direct Indexing L.P. now owns 20,552 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $9,897,000 after acquiring an additional 2,556 shares during the period. Coppell Advisory Solutions Corp. acquired a new stake in shares of Mastercard during the first quarter worth about $608,000. SteelPeak Wealth LLC grew its holdings in shares of Mastercard by 48.6% during the second quarter. SteelPeak Wealth LLC now owns 4,928 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $2,174,000 after buying an additional 1,612 shares during the last quarter. Susquehanna Fundamental Investments LLC purchased a new stake in Mastercard during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $2,938,000. Finally, OMC Financial Services LTD acquired a new stake in Mastercard during the 1st quarter worth approximately $17,854,000. Hedge funds and other 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.