Mastercard (NYSE:MA) Sets New 52-Week High – Time to Buy?

Shares of Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) reached a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Thursday . The company traded as high as $527.90 and last traded at $526.74, with a volume of 221963 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $513.69.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on MA shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on shares of Mastercard from $570.00 to $593.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, October 21st. Bank of America upped their price objective on shares of Mastercard from $480.00 to $509.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 17th. KeyCorp upped their price objective on shares of Mastercard from $490.00 to $515.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 1st. Compass Point initiated coverage on shares of Mastercard in a research report on Wednesday, September 4th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $525.00 price target for the company. Finally, BMO Capital Markets restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $520.00 price target on shares of Mastercard in a research report on Wednesday, August 14th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eighteen have given a buy rating and three have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $525.68.

Mastercard Stock Performance

The firm has a market capitalization of $471.06 billion, a P/E ratio of 39.29, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.27 and a beta of 1.10. The company’s 50 day moving average is $494.33 and its 200-day moving average is $466.27. The company has a quick ratio of 1.14, a current ratio of 1.14 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.95.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, July 31st. The credit services provider reported $3.59 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.51 by $0.08. The business had revenue of $6.96 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.85 billion. Mastercard had a net margin of 46.45% and a return on equity of 179.78%. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Mastercard Incorporated will post 14.32 EPS for the current year.

Mastercard Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed 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 dividend yield of 0.52%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, October 9th. Mastercard’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 20.18%.

Insider Activity

In other news, CFO J. Mehra Sachin sold 13,439 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $455.00, for a total value of $6,114,745.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 27,304 shares in the company, valued at $12,423,320. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. In related news, major shareholder Foundation Mastercard sold 119,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $468.46, for a total transaction of $55,746,740.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 92,033,308 shares in the company, valued at approximately $43,113,923,465.68. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CFO J. Mehra Sachin sold 13,439 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $455.00, for a total transaction of $6,114,745.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 27,304 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $12,423,320. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 340,809 shares of company stock worth $159,610,703 over the last quarter. Insiders own 0.10% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Mastercard

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in MA. Highline Wealth Partners LLC purchased a new position in shares of Mastercard in the third quarter worth about $25,000. Palisade Asset Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Mastercard in the first quarter worth about $27,000. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL purchased a new position in shares of Mastercard in the second quarter worth about $34,000. Fairway Wealth LLC purchased a new position in shares of Mastercard in the second quarter worth about $35,000. Finally, Lowe Wealth Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Mastercard by 74.0% in the third quarter. Lowe Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 87 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $43,000 after purchasing an additional 37 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.