Mastercard (NYSE:MA) Shares Down 0.3% – Should You Sell?

Shares of Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) dropped 0.3% during mid-day trading on Thursday . The company traded as low as $512.33 and last traded at $512.46. Approximately 482,978 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 80% from the average daily volume of 2,432,917 shares. The stock had previously closed at $514.07.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages recently issued reports on MA. BMO Capital Markets reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $520.00 price objective on shares of Mastercard in a report on Wednesday, August 14th. Robert W. Baird lifted their price target on Mastercard from $545.00 to $575.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday. Barclays increased their price objective on shares of Mastercard from $536.00 to $576.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 10th. Piper Sandler upped their price target on shares of Mastercard from $531.00 to $536.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, August 2nd. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on shares of Mastercard from $500.00 to $570.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 20th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eighteen have assigned a buy rating and three have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $524.64.

Mastercard Stock Performance

The company has a market cap of $477.60 billion, a PE ratio of 40.74, a P/E/G ratio of 2.22 and a beta of 1.10. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $484.54 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $463.60. 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 posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 31st. The credit services provider reported $3.59 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.51 by $0.08. Mastercard had a net margin of 46.45% and a return on equity of 179.78%. The firm had revenue of $6.96 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.85 billion. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Mastercard Incorporated will post 14.3 earnings per share for the current year.

Mastercard Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 8th. Investors of record on Wednesday, October 9th will be given a dividend of $0.66 per share. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, October 9th. This represents a $2.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.51%. Mastercard’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 20.99%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Mastercard

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

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Westend Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Mastercard during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Palisade Asset Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Mastercard in the 1st quarter worth about $27,000. Scarborough Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Mastercard in the 4th quarter valued at about $28,000. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL acquired a new stake in Mastercard during the second quarter worth about $34,000. Finally, Fairway Wealth LLC bought a new position in Mastercard in the second quarter worth about $35,000. 97.28% of the stock is currently owned by 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.