Morgan Stanley Forecasts Strong Price Appreciation for Mastercard (NYSE:MA) Stock

Mastercard (NYSE:MA) had its target price raised by analysts at Morgan Stanley from $544.00 to $564.00 in a research report issued to clients and investors on Thursday,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has an “overweight” rating on the credit services provider’s stock. Morgan Stanley’s price objective suggests a potential upside of 8.07% from the company’s current price.

Several other brokerages have also recently commented on MA. BNP Paribas cut shares of Mastercard from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $470.00 target price for the company. in a research report on Tuesday, September 3rd. BMO Capital Markets increased their price target on shares of Mastercard from $550.00 to $565.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday. Royal Bank of Canada upped their target price on shares of Mastercard from $500.00 to $526.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 1st. Barclays raised their target price on shares of Mastercard from $536.00 to $576.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, October 10th. Finally, TD Cowen upped their target price on shares of Mastercard from $532.00 to $533.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 1st. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-one have given a buy rating and three have given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Mastercard has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $549.16.

Mastercard Trading Up 0.3 %

Shares of MA opened at $521.89 on Thursday. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $503.18 and its 200-day simple moving average is $470.59. 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 capitalization of $479.01 billion, a PE ratio of 39.48, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.28 and a beta of 1.10. Mastercard has a 12-month low of $395.55 and a 12-month high of $534.03.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The credit services provider reported $3.89 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.73 by $0.16. The company had revenue of $7.37 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.27 billion. Mastercard had a net margin of 45.26% and a return on equity of 178.27%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 12.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $3.39 EPS. As a group, research analysts predict that Mastercard will post 14.45 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity

In related news, major shareholder Foundation Mastercard sold 109,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $467.45, for a total transaction of $50,952,050.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 91,924,308 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $42,970,017,774.60. This represents a 0.12 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CMO Venkata R. Madabhushi sold 4,685 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, September 13th. The stock was 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 directly owns 17,118 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,440,885.80. This trade represents a 21.49 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 208,370 shares of company stock valued at $97,749,218. 0.10% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd. lifted its position in shares of Mastercard by 46.4% during the 1st quarter. China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 14,785 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $7,120,000 after buying an additional 4,685 shares during the last quarter. Nwam LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Mastercard by 20.1% during the first quarter. Nwam LLC now owns 1,659 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $760,000 after purchasing an additional 278 shares during the period. M&G Plc bought a new stake in shares of Mastercard in the first quarter worth $137,081,000. Nicolet Advisory Services LLC increased its holdings in Mastercard by 1.2% in the first quarter. Nicolet Advisory Services LLC now owns 4,334 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $2,046,000 after purchasing an additional 51 shares during the period. Finally, Intech Investment Management LLC raised its position in Mastercard by 17.3% during the 1st quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC now owns 28,679 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $13,811,000 after purchasing an additional 4,227 shares during the last quarter. 97.28% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Mastercard Company Profile

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.