Royal Bank Of Canada Reiterates Outperform Rating for Mastercard (NYSE:MA)

Key Points

• Royal Bank of Canada has raised its price target for Mastercard from $650.00 to $656.00, indicating a potential upside of 17.72% from the stock's previous close.
• Mastercard's stock is currently rated as a "Moderate Buy" by analysts, with a consensus average target price of $615.33.
• In its latest earnings report, Mastercard exceeded expectations with earnings of $4.15 per share and reported a 16.8% increase in year-over-year revenue.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA - Get Free Report)'s stock had its "outperform" rating reissued by Royal Bank Of Canada in a report issued on Friday, MarketBeat reports. They presently have a $656.00 price objective on the credit services provider's stock, up from their previous price objective of $650.00. Royal Bank Of Canada's price target indicates a potential upside of 17.20% from the company's previous close.

Several other equities analysts have also issued reports on the stock. Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on shares of Mastercard from $639.00 to $661.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Mastercard from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, July 18th. Wolfe Research set a $655.00 target price on shares of Mastercard in a research note on Monday, June 23rd. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft started coverage on shares of Mastercard in a research note on Thursday, July 17th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $650.00 target price for the company. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group reaffirmed a "buy" rating on shares of Mastercard in a research note on Friday, June 6th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-five have assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $615.33.

Mastercard Trading Down 1.2%

MA stock traded down $6.74 during trading on Friday, hitting $559.73. The company had a trading volume of 3,316,713 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,427,760. The company has a quick ratio of 1.11, a current ratio of 1.16 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.41. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $564.58 and a 200-day moving average price of $551.95. Mastercard has a 12 month low of $439.59 and a 12 month high of $594.71. The stock has a market cap of $510.31 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 37.74, a PEG ratio of 2.43 and a beta of 1.03.

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

Insider Activity 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 shares were sold at an average price of $560.00, for a total transaction of $536,480.00. Following the transaction, 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 ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Julius Genachowski sold 312 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $570.67, for a total transaction of $178,049.04. Following the transaction, the director owned 8,469 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,833,004.23. This trade represents a 3.55% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 38,753 shares of company stock valued at $20,351,084. 0.09% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Mastercard

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. LGT Financial Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Mastercard during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $25,000. Family Legacy Financial Solutions LLC bought a new stake in Mastercard during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $26,000. Flaharty Asset Management LLC bought a new stake in Mastercard during the 1st quarter worth approximately $27,000. Keystone Global Partners LLC bought a new stake in Mastercard during the 1st quarter worth approximately $31,000. Finally, IMG Wealth Management Inc. bought a new stake in Mastercard during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $31,000. 97.28% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.