Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) Receives Average Recommendation of "Moderate Buy" from Brokerages

Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA - Get Free Report) has been given an average recommendation of "Moderate Buy" by the thirty-two research firms that are currently covering the company, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation, twenty-four have issued a buy recommendation and three have given a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average 1-year target price among brokerages that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $612.90.

MA has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Wolfe Research set a $655.00 price objective on shares of Mastercard in a research note on Monday, June 23rd. Citigroup lifted their price objective on shares of Mastercard from $650.00 to $652.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, May 5th. Evercore ISI began coverage on shares of Mastercard in a research note on Wednesday, April 9th. They issued an "in-line" rating and a $550.00 price objective for the company. KeyCorp increased their price target on Mastercard from $630.00 to $635.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, May 2nd. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft began coverage on Mastercard in a report on Thursday, July 17th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $650.00 price target on the stock.

Insider Transactions at Mastercard

In related news, insider Linda Pistecchia Kirkpatrick sold 958 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $560.00, for a total value of $536,480.00. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 23,624 shares in the company, valued at approximately $13,229,440. The trade was a 3.90% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider Raj Seshadri sold 1,100 shares of Mastercard stock in a transaction on Friday, June 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $546.77, for a total value of $601,447.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 12,921 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $7,064,815.17. This trade represents a 7.85% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 38,753 shares of company stock valued at $20,351,084. Corporate insiders own 0.09% of the company's stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Mastercard

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Accredited Investors Inc. lifted its holdings in Mastercard by 2.6% in the 1st quarter. Accredited Investors Inc. now owns 718 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $394,000 after buying an additional 18 shares during the period. Wealthstream Advisors Inc. lifted its holdings in Mastercard by 2.9% in the 1st quarter. Wealthstream Advisors Inc. now owns 632 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $347,000 after buying an additional 18 shares during the period. Pinion Investment Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Mastercard by 0.8% in the 2nd quarter. Pinion Investment Advisors LLC now owns 2,272 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $1,276,000 after buying an additional 18 shares during the period. KRS Capital Management LLC raised its position in shares of Mastercard by 0.6% in the 2nd quarter. KRS Capital Management LLC now owns 2,848 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $1,601,000 after acquiring an additional 18 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Strategy Asset Managers LLC raised its position in shares of Mastercard by 2.1% in the 4th quarter. Strategy Asset Managers LLC now owns 911 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $480,000 after acquiring an additional 19 shares in the last quarter. 97.28% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Mastercard Trading Up 0.8%

Shares of NYSE MA traded up $4.68 during trading on Thursday, reaching $568.18. The company had a trading volume of 1,513,080 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,575,199. The company's fifty day moving average price is $565.61 and its 200-day moving average price is $550.15. Mastercard has a 12 month low of $432.11 and a 12 month high of $594.71. The stock has a market cap of $518.02 billion, a P/E ratio of 39.84, a PEG ratio of 2.46 and a beta of 1.02. The company has a quick ratio of 1.11, a current ratio of 1.11 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.81.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, May 1st. The credit services provider reported $3.73 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.57 by $0.16. Mastercard had a return on equity of 196.87% and a net margin of 45.21%. The company had revenue of $7.25 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.12 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $3.31 EPS. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 14.2% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts expect that Mastercard will post 15.91 earnings per share for the current year.

Mastercard Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 8th. Investors of record on Wednesday, July 9th will be paid a $0.76 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, July 9th. This represents a $3.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.54%. Mastercard's payout ratio is 21.32%.

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.