Sanford C. Bernstein Forecasts Strong Price Appreciation for Mastercard (NYSE:MA) Stock

Key Points

• Sanford C. Bernstein raised its Mastercard price target to $764 from $730 and maintained an “outperform” rating, implying 16.59% upside from the cited share price.
• Analyst sentiment is broadly positive: Mastercard has a consensus “Moderate Buy” rating and an average price target of $711.09, with major firms including RBC and JPMorgan also lifting targets.
• Mastercard beat quarterly estimates, reporting $5.31 in earnings per share and $9.81 billion in revenue; revenue grew 14% year over year.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA - Get Free Report) had its price target lifted by research analysts at Sanford C. Bernstein from $730.00 to $764.00 in a research report issued to clients and investors on Wednesday, Benzinga reports. The firm presently has an "outperform" rating on the credit services provider's stock. Sanford C. Bernstein's price target indicates a potential upside of 16.59% from the stock's current price.

Several other brokerages also recently weighed in on MA. Royal Bank Of Canada increased their price target on Mastercard from $696.00 to $742.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday, October 30th. Raymond James Financial restated an "outperform" rating and set a $632.00 price objective (up from $609.00) on shares of Mastercard in a report on Friday, July 31st. Evercore upped their price objective on Mastercard from $550.00 to $620.00 in a research report on Friday, July 31st. Argus increased their target price on Mastercard from $640.00 to $694.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, October 30th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on Mastercard from $720.00 to $755.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, October 30th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty have issued a Buy rating, two have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $711.09.

Mastercard Trading Down 0.5%

Shares of NYSE:MA traded down $3.56 during trading on Wednesday, reaching $655.28. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,019,538 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,501,229. The company has a current ratio of 1.01, a quick ratio of 1.01 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.29. Mastercard has a 12 month low of $464.52 and a 12 month high of $681.99. The firm's 50 day simple moving average is $595.74 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $540.39. The stock has a market capitalization of $570.87 billion, a PE ratio of 34.22, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.85 and a beta of 0.78.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 29th. The credit services provider reported $5.31 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $5.17 by $0.14. The business had revenue of $9.81 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $9.66 billion. Mastercard had a net margin of 46.73% and a return on equity of 260.86%. The business's revenue was up 14.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $4.38 earnings per share. On average, research analysts predict that Mastercard will post 20.00 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Mastercard news, insider Sachin Mehra sold 7,444 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $577.13, for a total transaction of $4,296,155.72. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 40,916 shares in the company, valued at $23,613,851.08. This trade represents a 15.39% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, Director Julius Genachowski sold 371 shares of Mastercard stock in a transaction on Friday, October 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $585.01, for a total value of $217,038.71. Following the sale, the director directly owned 8,607 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $5,035,181.07. This trade represents a 4.13% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders have sold a total of 25,403 shares of company stock valued at $15,428,736 over the last quarter. 0.09% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Edmond DE Rothschild Holding S.A. raised its position in shares of Mastercard by 58.8% in the 3rd quarter. Edmond DE Rothschild Holding S.A. now owns 8,741 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $4,820,000 after acquiring an additional 3,237 shares in the last quarter. GW&K Investment Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Mastercard by 1.5% during the 3rd quarter. GW&K Investment Management LLC now owns 36,706 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $20,242,000 after purchasing an additional 551 shares during the last quarter. Private Wealth Asset Management LLC boosted its position in Mastercard by 87.8% during the third quarter. Private Wealth Asset Management LLC now owns 3,856 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $2,126,000 after purchasing an additional 1,803 shares in the last quarter. Private Advisor Group LLC boosted its position in Mastercard by 43.4% during the third quarter. Private Advisor Group LLC now owns 50,398 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $27,793,000 after purchasing an additional 15,253 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Petix & Botte Co boosted its position in Mastercard by 4.1% during the third quarter. Petix & Botte Co now owns 454 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $250,000 after purchasing an additional 18 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 97.28% of the company's stock.

Recent Mastercard Headlines

Here are a few of the latest headlines about MA:

• Positive Sentiment: Citigroup raised its price target to $800 from $675 and reiterated a “buy” rating. Separately, brokerages’ average target was reported at $709.45, indicating favorable analyst expectations. Citigroup rating coverage Brokerage average price target
• Positive Sentiment: Mastercard is expanding its business-banking reach: Sage selected it as the card-network partner for small-business accounts and debit cards, while other announced collaborations include a BMO business card and treasury-management tools using Mastercard technology. These deals could broaden its commercial payments activity. Sage partnership Business-banking partnerships
• Negative Sentiment: CEO Michael Miebach identified cybersecurity as a major concern, underscoring the ongoing challenge and potential costs of protecting financial infrastructure from increasingly difficult threats. CEO comments on cybersecurity

About Mastercard

Mastercard Incorporated is a global payments technology company that operates a network connecting consumers, merchants, financial institutions, businesses and governments. Its network supports electronic payments, including transactions made with Mastercard-branded credit, debit and prepaid cards, as well as digital payment methods. The company provides technology for authorizing, clearing and settling transactions. It also offers services related to cybersecurity, identity verification, data analytics, fraud prevention and payment consulting.

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