Robert W. Baird Increases Mastercard (NYSE:MA) Price Target to $545.00

Mastercard (NYSE:MA) had its price objective increased by analysts at Robert W. Baird from $525.00 to $545.00 in a report issued on Thursday, Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has an “outperform” rating on the credit services provider’s stock. Robert W. Baird’s target price points to a potential upside of 19.68% from the stock’s previous close.

Several other research analysts also recently weighed in on the company. Royal Bank of Canada upped their price target on Mastercard from $432.00 to $499.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 1st. Monness Crespi & Hardt initiated coverage on Mastercard in a research note on Wednesday, December 20th. They issued a “neutral” rating for the company. Oppenheimer restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $510.00 price target on shares of Mastercard in a research note on Thursday, February 1st. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on Mastercard from $490.00 to $530.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 6th. Finally, William Blair reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of Mastercard in a research report on Wednesday, January 31st. Two 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 company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Mastercard presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $490.23.

Mastercard Trading Up 0.2 %

Mastercard stock opened at $455.39 on Thursday. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $471.70 and a 200 day moving average of $433.78. The firm has a market capitalization of $424.83 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 38.49, a P/E/G ratio of 1.73 and a beta of 1.08. Mastercard has a 12-month low of $357.85 and a 12-month high of $490.00. The company has a current ratio of 1.17, a quick ratio of 1.17 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.06.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 31st. The credit services provider reported $3.18 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.08 by $0.10. Mastercard had a return on equity of 191.22% and a net margin of 44.60%. The business had revenue of $6.55 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.46 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $2.65 EPS. As a group, research analysts predict that Mastercard will post 14.35 earnings per share for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Mastercard news, major shareholder Foundation Mastercard sold 111,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, April 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $457.15, for a total value of $50,743,650.00. Following the sale, the insider now owns 97,432,308 shares in the company, valued at $44,541,179,602.20. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other Mastercard news, major shareholder Foundation Mastercard sold 111,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, April 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $457.15, for a total value of $50,743,650.00. Following the sale, the insider now owns 97,432,308 shares in the company, valued at $44,541,179,602.20. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider Craig Vosburg sold 13,542 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $460.06, for a total value of $6,230,132.52. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 46,491 shares in the company, valued at approximately $21,388,649.46. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 148,728 shares of company stock worth $68,483,403 over the last quarter. Company insiders own 0.13% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Mastercard

Several institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in MA. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of Mastercard during the fourth quarter valued at $4,595,559,000. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Mastercard by 111,819.8% during the fourth quarter. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC now owns 5,983,231 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $2,080,549,000 after buying an additional 5,977,885 shares during the period. International Assets Investment Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Mastercard by 43,445.1% during the fourth quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 2,936,684 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $1,252,525,000 after buying an additional 2,929,940 shares during the period. Morgan Stanley boosted its position in Mastercard by 17.7% during the fourth quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 15,843,692 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $5,509,328,000 after purchasing an additional 2,385,640 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Barclays PLC boosted its position in Mastercard by 145.7% during the second quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 2,960,242 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $1,164,263,000 after purchasing an additional 1,755,483 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 97.28% of the company’s stock.

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.