Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) Receives Consensus Rating of "Buy" from Analysts

Key Points

• Shares of Mastercard carry a consensus "Buy" from 28 analysts (1 sell, 21 buy, 6 strong buy) with an average 1‑year price target of $659.
• Mastercard beat last quarter's estimates with EPS $4.76 vs $4.24 and revenue of $8.81B (up 17.5% YoY), posting strong margins (net margin 45.65%) while analysts forecast about 19.52 EPS for the fiscal year.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend of $0.87 per share (annualized $3.48, yield 0.7%), with an ex‑dividend date of April 9 and payment on May 8.

Shares of Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA - Get Free Report) have earned an average recommendation of "Buy" from the twenty-eight ratings firms that are presently covering the firm, MarketBeat reports. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, twenty-one have issued a buy rating and six have issued a strong buy rating on the company. The average 1-year price target among analysts that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $659.00.

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Macquarie Infrastructure increased their target price on shares of Mastercard from $660.00 to $675.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, January 30th. BNP Paribas Exane raised shares of Mastercard from a "neutral" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $600.00 target price on the stock in a research note on Thursday, March 19th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Mastercard from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Sunday, March 15th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their target price on shares of Mastercard from $685.00 to $655.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 30th. Finally, Rothschild & Co Redburn set a $685.00 target price on shares of Mastercard in a research note on Wednesday, January 28th.

Mastercard Trading Up 0.4%

MA stock opened at $504.58 on Friday. The company's 50-day simple moving average is $507.62 and its 200-day simple moving average is $537.86. The company has a quick ratio of 1.03, a current ratio of 1.03 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.36. Mastercard has a 52-week low of $480.50 and a 52-week high of $601.77. The firm has a market cap of $449.99 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.54, a PEG ratio of 1.61 and a beta of 0.83.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, January 29th. The credit services provider reported $4.76 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $4.24 by $0.52. Mastercard had a net margin of 45.65% and a return on equity of 203.92%. The business had revenue of $8.81 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $8.80 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $3.82 EPS. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 17.5% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Mastercard will post 19.52 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Mastercard Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 8th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, April 9th will be paid a dividend of $0.87 per share. This represents a $3.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.7%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 9th. Mastercard's dividend payout ratio is presently 21.07%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of MA. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake in Mastercard by 0.6% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 79,897,854 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $45,612,087,000 after buying an additional 466,514 shares in the last quarter. J. Stern & Co. LLP lifted its stake in Mastercard by 53,535.0% in the 4th quarter. J. Stern & Co. LLP now owns 72,597,097 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $41,444,231,000 after buying an additional 72,461,743 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp lifted its stake in Mastercard by 2.8% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 36,580,374 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $20,807,283,000 after buying an additional 997,536 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in Mastercard by 1.7% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 20,686,605 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $11,773,153,000 after buying an additional 349,369 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Capital International Investors lifted its stake in Mastercard by 4.4% in the 4th quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 17,964,658 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $10,256,368,000 after buying an additional 759,584 shares in the last quarter. 97.28% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Trending Headlines about Mastercard

Here are the key news stories impacting Mastercard this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Wall Street expects earnings growth next week, boosting the prospect of an earnings beat that can drive the stock higher. MasterCard (MA) Reports Next Week: Wall Street Expects Earnings Growth
• Positive Sentiment: BMO Capital Markets upgraded MA to "strong-buy," a bullish signal from a major shop that can support buying interest. BMO Upgrade Coverage
• Positive Sentiment: Multiple business expansions and partnerships — e.g., KuCoin launching a Mastercard‑powered USDC payment card in Australia and new initiatives in South Africa and Sri Lanka — underscore network growth and new revenue streams. KuCoin Debuts Mastercard-Powered USDC Payment Card in Australia
• Positive Sentiment: Corporate sustainability and revenue progress: Mastercard reported continued revenue growth and emissions reductions, reinforcing the quality growth narrative investors like. Mastercard grows revenue, reduces emissions for third straight year
• Positive Sentiment: Investor commentary and bullish write-ups (including a positive thesis summarized on Yahoo Finance) highlight MA’s valuation vs. growth and keep buy-side interest elevated. Is Mastercard Incorporated (MA) A Good Stock To Buy Now?
• Neutral Sentiment: Truist lowered its price target from $611 to $590 but kept a "buy" rating — slightly less upside than before but still supportive. Truist Lowers PT
• Neutral Sentiment: Valuation comparisons (PayPal vs. Mastercard) keep analysts debating relative value; these discussions can influence flows but are not an immediate catalyst. PYPL vs. MA: Which Stock Is the Better Value Option?
• Negative Sentiment: Regulatory/legal pressure: a new suit over card fees could increase litigation and regulatory scrutiny, creating a downside risk to margins and sentiment. Visa, Mastercard face new suit over card fees
• Negative Sentiment: Industry changes: reporting on a proposed Visa–Mastercard deal suggests merchants could gain tools to steer spending, which may pressure interchange revenue over time. Proposed Visa–Mastercard Deal Hands Merchants New Power to Steer Spending

About Mastercard

Mastercard Incorporated is a global payments technology company that operates a network connecting consumers, financial institutions, merchants, governments and businesses in more than 200 countries and territories. The company facilitates electronic payments and transaction processing for credit, debit and prepaid card products carrying the Mastercard brand, while also providing a range of payment-related services to issuers, acquirers and merchants. Its technology and network enable authorization, clearing and settlement of payments and support a broad set of use cases including point-of-sale, e-commerce and mobile payments.

Beyond core transaction processing, Mastercard offers a suite of value-added services such as fraud and risk management, identity and authentication tools, tokenization and digital wallet support, cross-border and commercial payment solutions, and data analytics and consulting services for merchants and financial partners.

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