Mastercard (NYSE:MA) Raised to “Buy” at Monness Crespi & Hardt

Monness Crespi & Hardt upgraded shares of Mastercard (NYSE:MA) from a neutral rating to a buy rating in a research report report published on Friday morning, Marketbeat reports. Monness Crespi & Hardt currently has $640.00 target price on the credit services provider’s stock.

A number of other equities research analysts have also recently commented on MA. Susquehanna lifted their price target on shares of Mastercard from $605.00 to $670.00 and gave the stock a “positive” rating in a report on Friday. Royal Bank of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $572.00 price objective on shares of Mastercard in a report on Thursday, November 14th. Mizuho upped their price target on Mastercard from $496.00 to $532.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, November 1st. KeyCorp boosted their price objective on shares of Mastercard from $600.00 to $630.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday. Finally, Barclays increased their target price on shares of Mastercard from $536.00 to $576.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 10th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-three have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Mastercard currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $595.64.

Mastercard Stock Performance

Shares of MA opened at $555.63 on Friday. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $528.28 and a 200 day moving average of $501.03. The company has a current ratio of 1.29, a quick ratio of 1.29 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.36. Mastercard has a 12 month low of $428.86 and a 12 month high of $576.94. The company has a market capitalization of $509.97 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 42.03, a PEG ratio of 2.17 and a beta of 1.10.

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

Mastercard Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 7th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, January 9th will be paid a dividend of $0.76 per share. This is a boost from Mastercard’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.66. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, January 10th. This represents a $3.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.55%. Mastercard’s payout ratio is presently 23.00%.

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

Institutional Trading of Mastercard

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Highline Wealth Partners LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Mastercard during the 3rd quarter valued at about $25,000. First Personal Financial Services purchased a new stake in Mastercard in the third quarter worth approximately $39,000. FSA Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in Mastercard in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $54,000. Raelipskie Partnership raised its stake in Mastercard by 120.0% during the 3rd quarter. Raelipskie Partnership now owns 110 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $54,000 after buying an additional 60 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Legacy Investment Solutions LLC bought a new position in shares of Mastercard during the 3rd quarter valued at $55,000. 97.28% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.