Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) Given Average Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by Analysts

Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) has earned an average rating of “Moderate Buy” from the twenty-nine brokerages that are covering the firm, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation, twenty-four have issued a buy recommendation and one has given a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average twelve-month price objective among brokerages that have covered the stock in the last year is $603.08.

MA has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Robert W. Baird boosted their price target on Mastercard from $545.00 to $575.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 16th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on Mastercard from $585.00 to $625.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday. Macquarie raised their price target on shares of Mastercard from $565.00 to $645.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Morgan Stanley reduced their price target on shares of Mastercard from $654.00 to $644.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Susquehanna increased their price objective on shares of Mastercard from $605.00 to $670.00 and gave the company a “positive” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st.

Institutional Trading of Mastercard

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. SRS Capital Advisors Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Mastercard by 36.7% in the fourth quarter. SRS Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 8,575 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $4,515,000 after buying an additional 2,304 shares in the last quarter. Halbert Hargrove Global Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Mastercard in the 4th quarter valued at $32,000. Bailard Inc. lifted its stake in Mastercard by 3.9% in the 4th quarter. Bailard Inc. now owns 4,074 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $2,145,000 after purchasing an additional 154 shares in the last quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Mastercard by 19.0% during the 4th quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 9,112 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $4,789,000 after purchasing an additional 1,454 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Maia Wealth LLC grew its position in shares of Mastercard by 10.5% during the fourth quarter. Maia Wealth LLC now owns 6,898 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $3,778,000 after purchasing an additional 655 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 97.28% of the company’s stock.

Mastercard Stock Performance

Shares of MA stock opened at $566.05 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.68, a quick ratio of 1.29 and a current ratio of 1.03. The company has a market capitalization of $519.53 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 40.75, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.23 and a beta of 1.10. Mastercard has a one year low of $428.86 and a one year high of $576.94. The company’s 50-day moving average is $529.65 and its 200 day moving average is $503.41.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The credit services provider reported $3.82 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.71 by $0.11. Mastercard had a net margin of 45.71% and a return on equity of 188.47%. Sell-side analysts expect that Mastercard will post 16.04 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Mastercard Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 7th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, January 9th will be given a $0.76 dividend. This represents a $3.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.54%. This is an increase from Mastercard’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.66. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, January 10th. Mastercard’s payout ratio is presently 21.89%.

Mastercard announced that its board has initiated a stock repurchase program on Tuesday, December 17th that allows the company to buyback $12.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization allows the credit services provider to reacquire up to 2.5% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are usually a sign that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

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.