Citigroup Begins Coverage on Mastercard (NYSE:MA)

Key Points

• Citigroup has initiated coverage on Mastercard with a "buy" rating and a price target of $735.00, indicating a potential upside of 28.82% from its current price.
• The consensus rating for Mastercard stands at "Buy" with 25 analysts rating it as such, and the average target price is $638.00.
• Mastercard's latest quarterly earnings showed an EPS of $4.15, surpassing expectations, with revenue rising 16.8% year-over-year to $8.13 billion.

Citigroup began coverage on shares of Mastercard (NYSE:MA - Get Free Report) in a report released on Wednesday,Benzinga reports. The firm set a "buy" rating and a $735.00 price target on the credit services provider's stock. Citigroup's price objective suggests a potential upside of 28.82% from the stock's current price.

MA has been the subject of several other reports. Wall Street Zen raised Mastercard from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Saturday. The Goldman Sachs Group reaffirmed a "buy" rating on shares of Mastercard in a research note on Friday, August 1st. Truist Financial cut their target price on Mastercard from $640.00 to $612.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, July 17th. Wells Fargo & Company assumed coverage on Mastercard in a research note on Tuesday. They issued an "overweight" rating and a $669.00 target price for the company. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada raised their target price on Mastercard from $650.00 to $656.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, August 1st. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-five have assigned a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and a consensus target price of $638.00.

Mastercard Price Performance

NYSE MA traded down $1.46 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, hitting $570.57. The stock had a trading volume of 1,820,427 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,769,264. The firm's 50 day moving average is $580.03 and its 200 day moving average is $564.09. Mastercard has a twelve month low of $465.59 and a twelve month high of $601.77. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.41, a current ratio of 1.16 and a quick ratio of 1.16. The stock has a market capitalization of $515.80 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 38.47, a PEG ratio of 2.32 and a beta of 0.97.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 31st. The credit services provider reported $4.15 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $4.05 by $0.10. Mastercard had a return on equity of 200.01% and a net margin of 44.93%.The firm had revenue of $8.13 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.95 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $3.50 EPS. The firm's revenue was up 16.8% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts forecast that Mastercard will post 15.91 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In related news, CFO J. Mehra Sachin sold 17,263 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $591.00, for a total transaction of $10,202,433.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 31,234 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $18,459,294. This trade represents a 35.60% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.09% of the company's stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Mastercard

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of MA. Brighton Jones LLC boosted its holdings in Mastercard by 42.3% during the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 6,824 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $3,594,000 after acquiring an additional 2,028 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its holdings in Mastercard by 19.9% during the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 15,007 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $8,226,000 after acquiring an additional 2,493 shares during the period. Consolidated Portfolio Review Corp boosted its holdings in Mastercard by 10.6% during the 1st quarter. Consolidated Portfolio Review Corp now owns 1,611 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $883,000 after acquiring an additional 154 shares during the period. Archford Capital Strategies LLC boosted its holdings in Mastercard by 15.9% during the 1st quarter. Archford Capital Strategies LLC now owns 8,311 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $4,555,000 after acquiring an additional 1,142 shares during the period. Finally, Field & Main Bank boosted its holdings in Mastercard by 1.0% during the 1st quarter. Field & Main Bank now owns 2,242 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $1,229,000 after acquiring an additional 22 shares during the period. 97.28% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Mastercard

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.

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