Mastercard (NYSE:MA) Receives Buy (B) Rating from Weiss Ratings

Mastercard (NYSE:MA - Get Free Report)'s stock had its "buy (b)" rating reiterated by research analysts at Weiss Ratings in a research report issued on Wednesday,Weiss Ratings reports.

Other analysts have also recently issued research reports about the stock. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft started coverage on shares of Mastercard in a report on Thursday, July 17th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $650.00 target price on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on shares of Mastercard from $625.00 to $650.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, August 1st. KeyCorp increased their price target on shares of Mastercard from $635.00 to $660.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, August 1st. Royal Bank Of Canada increased their price target on shares of Mastercard from $650.00 to $656.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, August 1st. Finally, Robert W. Baird increased their price target on shares of Mastercard from $640.00 to $660.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Monday. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-five have given a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Mastercard presently has an average rating of "Buy" and a consensus price target of $634.04.

Mastercard Stock Down 0.6%

Shares of NYSE:MA opened at $576.40 on Wednesday. The firm's 50 day moving average price is $581.11 and its 200 day moving average price is $562.55. The stock has a market cap of $521.07 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 38.87, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.38 and a beta of 0.97. Mastercard has a fifty-two week low of $465.59 and a fifty-two week high of $601.77. The company has a quick ratio of 1.16, a current ratio of 1.16 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.41.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, July 31st. The credit services provider reported $4.15 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $4.05 by $0.10. The firm had revenue of $8.13 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $7.95 billion. Mastercard had a net margin of 44.93% and a return on equity of 200.01%. The firm's revenue was up 16.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $3.50 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Mastercard will post 15.91 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In other news, CFO J. Mehra Sachin sold 17,816 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $586.89, for a total transaction of $10,456,032.24. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 31,234 shares in the company, valued at approximately $18,330,922.26. This trade represents a 36.32% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Company insiders own 0.09% of the company's stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Mastercard

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. ORG Partners LLC grew its position in Mastercard by 73.2% in the 2nd quarter. ORG Partners LLC now owns 698 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $394,000 after buying an additional 295 shares during the last quarter. Ethos Financial Group LLC grew its position in Mastercard by 19.5% in the 1st quarter. Ethos Financial Group LLC now owns 3,174 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $1,683,000 after buying an additional 518 shares during the last quarter. Fortis Advisors LLC grew its position in Mastercard by 9.4% in the 1st quarter. Fortis Advisors LLC now owns 871 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $477,000 after buying an additional 75 shares during the last quarter. Wheelhouse Advisory Group LLC grew its position in Mastercard by 4.4% in the 2nd quarter. Wheelhouse Advisory Group LLC now owns 1,336 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $751,000 after buying an additional 56 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Canandaigua National Trust Co of Florida grew its position in Mastercard by 36.4% in the 1st quarter. Canandaigua National Trust Co of Florida now owns 693 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $380,000 after buying an additional 185 shares during the last quarter. 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.

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