Mastercard (NYSE:MA) Price Target Lowered to $612.00 at Truist Financial

Mastercard (NYSE:MA - Free Report) had its target price decreased by Truist Financial from $640.00 to $612.00 in a research report sent to investors on Thursday morning,Benzinga reports. Truist Financial currently has a buy rating on the credit services provider's stock.

Several other research firms have also issued reports on MA. KeyCorp upped their price objective on Mastercard from $630.00 to $635.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, May 2nd. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft initiated coverage on Mastercard in a research note on Thursday. They set a "buy" rating and a $650.00 target price on the stock. The Goldman Sachs Group reiterated a "buy" rating and set a $633.00 target price on shares of Mastercard in a research note on Wednesday, April 2nd. Evercore ISI initiated coverage on Mastercard in a research note on Wednesday, April 9th. They set an "in-line" rating and a $550.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada restated an "outperform" rating and set a $650.00 price objective on shares of Mastercard in a research note on Tuesday, July 15th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-five have issued a buy rating and three have given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $612.90.

Mastercard Trading Down 0.6%

MA traded down $3.09 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $552.52. 2,579,579 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,665,575. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.81, a quick ratio of 1.11 and a current ratio of 1.11. Mastercard has a one year low of $428.86 and a one year high of $594.71. The stock has a market capitalization of $503.74 billion, a P/E ratio of 38.75, a PEG ratio of 2.39 and a beta of 1.02. The stock's 50-day simple moving average is $567.30 and its 200 day simple moving average is $548.59.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 1st. The credit services provider reported $3.73 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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 during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.12 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $3.31 earnings per share. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 14.2% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts forecast that Mastercard will post 15.91 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Mastercard Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 8th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, July 9th will be given a $0.76 dividend. This represents a $3.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.55%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, July 9th. Mastercard's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 21.32%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, insider Linda Pistecchia Kirkpatrick sold 959 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Friday, June 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $572.86, for a total value of $549,372.74. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 25,540 shares of the company's stock, valued at $14,630,844.40. The trade was a 3.62% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Julius Genachowski sold 312 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $570.67, for a total value of $178,049.04. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 8,469 shares of the company's stock, valued at $4,833,004.23. The trade was a 3.55% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 38,753 shares of company stock valued at $20,351,084. Insiders own 0.09% of the company's stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Mastercard

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in MA. Kingstone Capital Partners Texas LLC bought a new position in shares of Mastercard in the second quarter valued at approximately $11,421,213,000. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of Mastercard in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $6,022,224,000. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its holdings in Mastercard by 65,631.5% during the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 8,225,637 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $4,508,636,000 after purchasing an additional 8,213,123 shares during the period. Nuveen LLC bought a new position in Mastercard during the first quarter valued at $4,238,764,000. Finally, Wellington Management Group LLP grew its holdings in Mastercard by 38.6% during the first quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 13,526,118 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $7,413,936,000 after purchasing an additional 3,765,378 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 97.28% of the company's stock.

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.