Bank of America Boosts Mastercard (NYSE:MA) Price Target to $509.00

Mastercard (NYSE:MA) had its target price upped by Bank of America from $480.00 to $509.00 in a research report sent to investors on Tuesday morning, Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has a neutral rating on the credit services provider’s stock.

A number of other analysts have also weighed in on MA. Evercore ISI lowered their target price on Mastercard from $540.00 to $525.00 and set an outperform rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, June 25th. Barclays upped their target price on Mastercard from $530.00 to $536.00 and gave the company an overweight rating in a research report on Monday, August 5th. William Blair raised Mastercard to a strong-buy rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 31st. Piper Sandler increased their price target on Mastercard from $531.00 to $536.00 and gave the stock an overweight rating in a research report on Friday, August 2nd. Finally, Susquehanna increased 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. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-one have issued a buy rating and three have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus target price of $512.08.

Mastercard Trading Down 0.4 %

MA opened at $493.01 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.95, a quick ratio of 1.14 and a current ratio of 1.14. The stock has a market cap of $458.31 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 39.19, a P/E/G ratio of 1.92 and a beta of 1.10. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $465.19 and its 200-day moving average price is $460.98. Mastercard has a one year low of $359.77 and a one year high of $501.80.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 31st. The credit services provider reported $3.59 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.51 by $0.08. The firm had revenue of $6.96 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.85 billion. Mastercard had a return on equity of 179.78% and a net margin of 46.45%. On average, equities analysts forecast that Mastercard will post 14.29 EPS for the current year.

Mastercard Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 8th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, October 9th will be paid a $0.66 dividend. This represents a $2.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.54%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, October 9th. Mastercard’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 20.99%.

Insider Transactions at Mastercard

In other news, major shareholder Foundation Mastercard sold 138,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, June 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $453.19, for a total transaction of $62,540,220.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 92,152,308 shares in the company, valued at approximately $41,762,504,462.52. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. In related news, major shareholder Foundation Mastercard sold 138,000 shares of Mastercard stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, June 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $453.19, for a total value of $62,540,220.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 92,152,308 shares in the company, valued at approximately $41,762,504,462.52. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CMO Venkata R. Madabhushi sold 4,685 shares of Mastercard 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 completion of the sale, the chief marketing officer now owns 17,118 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,440,885.80. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 605,124 shares of company stock worth $280,045,189 in the last 90 days. Insiders own 0.10% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Mastercard

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in MA. VitalStone Financial LLC lifted its position in shares of Mastercard by 300.0% during the 4th quarter. VitalStone Financial LLC now owns 60 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 45 shares during the last quarter. Westend Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in Mastercard in the first quarter valued at $27,000. Palisade Asset Management LLC acquired a new position in Mastercard in the first quarter valued at $27,000. Scarborough Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Mastercard during the fourth quarter worth about $28,000. Finally, Beaird Harris Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Mastercard during the fourth quarter worth about $30,000. 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.