Mastercard (NYSE:MA) Price Target Lowered to $644.00 at Morgan Stanley

Mastercard (NYSE:MA) had its price objective cut by Morgan Stanley from $654.00 to $644.00 in a research report report published on Friday morning,Benzinga reports. They currently have an overweight rating on the credit services provider’s stock.

Several other brokerages have also recently commented on MA. BMO Capital Markets raised their price objective on shares of Mastercard from $550.00 to $565.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 14th. Royal Bank of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $572.00 price target on shares of Mastercard in a research note on Thursday, November 14th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price objective on Mastercard from $593.00 to $580.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft boosted their target price on Mastercard from $510.00 to $580.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, November 1st. Finally, Macquarie raised their price target on Mastercard from $505.00 to $565.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, November 1st. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-three have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $595.64.

Mastercard Price Performance

Shares of NYSE MA opened at $555.63 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.36, a current ratio of 1.29 and a quick ratio of 1.29. The company has a market cap of $509.97 billion, a PE ratio of 42.03, a P/E/G ratio of 2.17 and a beta of 1.10. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $528.28 and a 200 day moving average price of $501.03. Mastercard has a 1-year low of $428.86 and a 1-year high of $576.94.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA) last released its earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The credit services provider reported $3.82 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.71 by $0.11. Mastercard had a net margin of 45.26% and a return on equity of 178.27%. Sell-side analysts forecast that Mastercard will post 14.47 EPS for the current year.

Mastercard Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 7th. Investors of record on Thursday, January 9th will be issued a $0.76 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, January 10th. This represents a $3.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.55%. This is a boost from Mastercard’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.66. Mastercard’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 23.00%.

Mastercard declared that its board has approved a share repurchase program on Tuesday, December 17th that permits the company to repurchase $12.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the credit services provider to repurchase up to 2.5% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are generally an indication that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Mastercard

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Capital Investment Advisory Services LLC lifted its position in Mastercard by 0.6% during the fourth quarter. Capital Investment Advisory Services LLC now owns 3,135 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $1,651,000 after buying an additional 19 shares in the last quarter. Capital Investment Services of America Inc. raised its stake in shares of Mastercard by 4.2% in the 4th quarter. Capital Investment Services of America Inc. now owns 475 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $250,000 after acquiring an additional 19 shares during the period. Augustine Asset Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Mastercard by 1.1% during the 4th quarter. Augustine Asset Management Inc. now owns 1,797 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $946,000 after acquiring an additional 19 shares in the last quarter. Goldstein Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Mastercard by 1.3% in the 3rd quarter. Goldstein Advisors LLC now owns 1,516 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $749,000 after purchasing an additional 20 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Community Bank N.A. raised its position in Mastercard by 0.9% in the third quarter. Community Bank N.A. now owns 2,190 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $1,081,000 after purchasing an additional 20 shares during the period. 97.28% of the stock is 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.