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

Shares of Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA - Get Free Report) have received an average rating of "Moderate Buy" from the thirty-one brokerages that are covering the stock, Marketbeat.com reports. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation, twenty-three have given a buy recommendation and two have assigned a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average 12-month target price among brokers that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $606.25.

Several analysts recently issued reports on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on shares of Mastercard from $590.00 to $610.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Piper Sandler reissued an "overweight" rating and set a $635.00 target price (up from $591.00) on shares of Mastercard in a report on Friday, January 31st. Tigress Financial reissued a "strong-buy" rating on shares of Mastercard in a report on Monday, March 10th. William Blair reissued an "outperform" rating on shares of Mastercard in a report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their target price on shares of Mastercard from $618.00 to $665.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday, January 31st.

Mastercard Stock Up 1.2%

Shares of NYSE MA traded up $7.00 during trading on Friday, reaching $580.28. 593,325 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,601,075. The business's 50-day moving average price is $533.61 and its 200 day moving average price is $534.45. Mastercard has a twelve month low of $428.86 and a twelve month high of $582.86. The company has a quick ratio of 1.03, a current ratio of 1.03 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.68. The company has a market capitalization of $529.05 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 41.78, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.37 and a beta of 1.06.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 1st. The credit services provider reported $3.73 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.57 by $0.16. The firm had revenue of $7.25 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $7.12 billion. Mastercard had a net margin of 45.71% and a return on equity of 188.47%. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 14.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $3.31 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Mastercard will post 15.91 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In other Mastercard news, insider Sandra A. Arkell sold 150 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $569.45, for a total transaction of $85,417.50. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 3,555 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,024,394.75. This represents a 4.05% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider Edward Grunde Mclaughlin sold 7,132 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $534.68, for a total transaction of $3,813,337.76. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 34,524 shares of the company's stock, valued at $18,459,292.32. This represents a 17.12% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 23,207 shares of company stock worth $12,664,529. Corporate insiders own 0.10% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of Mastercard

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. NewSquare Capital LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Mastercard in the fourth quarter worth approximately $26,000. Keystone Global Partners LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Mastercard in the first quarter worth approximately $31,000. Measured Risk Portfolios Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Mastercard in the fourth quarter worth approximately $31,000. Halbert Hargrove Global Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Mastercard in the fourth quarter worth approximately $32,000. Finally, Marshall Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Mastercard in the fourth quarter worth approximately $30,000. 97.28% of the stock is 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.