Mastercard (NYSE:MA) Trading Up 0.5% After Analyst Upgrade

Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) shares traded up 0.5% on Tuesday after Citigroup raised their price target on the stock from $572.00 to $584.00. Citigroup currently has a buy rating on the stock. Mastercard traded as high as $507.85 and last traded at $507.21. 696,659 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 70% from the average session volume of 2,295,478 shares. The stock had previously closed at $504.91.

A number of other equities analysts also recently commented on MA. William Blair restated an “outperform” rating on shares of Mastercard in a report on Monday, November 25th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised their price target on shares of Mastercard from $510.00 to $580.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, November 1st. Piper Sandler reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $575.00 price target (up from $565.00) on shares of Mastercard in a research report on Friday, November 15th. Barclays increased their price objective on shares of Mastercard from $536.00 to $576.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 10th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group lifted their target price on shares of Mastercard from $590.00 to $610.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, December 9th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-two have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Mastercard has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $566.63.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Highline Wealth Partners LLC acquired a new position in shares of Mastercard in the 3rd quarter worth $25,000. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL purchased a new position in Mastercard in the 2nd quarter worth about $34,000. First Personal Financial Services acquired a new stake in Mastercard during the 3rd quarter worth about $39,000. Lowe Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Mastercard by 74.0% during the third quarter. Lowe Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 87 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $43,000 after buying an additional 37 shares in the last quarter. Finally, FSA Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Mastercard in the third quarter worth about $54,000. Institutional investors own 97.28% of the company’s stock.

Mastercard Stock Performance

The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $524.17 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $493.43. The company has a quick ratio of 1.29, a current ratio of 1.29 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.36. The firm has a market capitalization of $480.10 billion, a PE ratio of 39.57, a P/E/G ratio of 2.00 and a beta of 1.10.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 31st. The credit services provider reported $3.89 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.73 by $0.16. The firm had revenue of $7.37 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $7.27 billion. Mastercard had a net margin of 45.26% and a return on equity of 178.27%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 12.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $3.39 EPS. As a group, research analysts predict that Mastercard Incorporated will post 14.46 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Mastercard Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 7th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, January 9th will be given a $0.76 dividend. This is an increase from Mastercard’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.66. The ex-dividend date is Friday, January 10th. This represents a $3.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.58%. Mastercard’s dividend payout ratio is presently 19.97%.

Mastercard announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock buyback program on Tuesday, December 17th that permits the company to buyback $12.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization permits the credit services provider to purchase up to 2.5% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are usually an indication that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

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.