Mastercard (NYSE:MA) Stock Rating Lowered by Wall Street Zen

Key Points

• Mastercard was downgraded from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating by analysts at Wall Street Zen, reflecting changing sentiment among investors.
• Despite the downgrade, Mastercard continues to have a consensus rating of "Buy" and multiple analysts have set a range of target prices, with the highest being $661.00.
• In the recent earnings report, Mastercard reported a Q2 earnings per share of $4.15, surpassing expectations and showing a revenue increase of 16.8% compared to the previous year.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA - Get Free Report) was downgraded by analysts at Wall Street Zen from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note issued on Friday.

Several other research analysts have also issued reports on MA. Royal Bank Of Canada boosted their target price on Mastercard from $650.00 to $656.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Friday, August 1st. TD Cowen restated a "buy" rating and issued a $645.00 target price on shares of Mastercard in a research note on Monday, August 11th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on shares of Mastercard from $625.00 to $650.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, August 1st. The Goldman Sachs Group restated a "buy" rating on shares of Mastercard in a research note on Friday, August 1st. Finally, Morgan Stanley upped their target price on shares of Mastercard from $639.00 to $661.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, August 1st. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-four have assigned a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Buy" and a consensus target price of $630.89.

Mastercard Price Performance

MA stock traded down $1.67 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $565.63. The company had a trading volume of 2,106,242 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,580,296. The company has a market capitalization of $511.34 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 38.14, a P/E/G ratio of 2.33 and a beta of 0.99. Mastercard has a 12-month low of $465.59 and a 12-month 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. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $579.00 and a 200 day moving average price of $560.04.

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

Insider Activity at Mastercard

In other news, insider Linda Pistecchia Kirkpatrick sold 958 shares of Mastercard stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $560.00, for a total value of $536,480.00. Following the sale, the insider owned 23,624 shares in the company, valued at $13,229,440. This trade represents a 3.90% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, Director Julius Genachowski sold 312 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $570.67, for a total transaction of $178,049.04. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 8,469 shares in the company, valued at $4,833,004.23. This represents a 3.55% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 36,349 shares of company stock worth $21,372,994. 0.09% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Mastercard

Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Brighton Jones LLC boosted its position in Mastercard by 42.3% during the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 6,824 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $3,594,000 after acquiring an additional 2,028 shares during the last quarter. Mascagni Wealth Management Inc. acquired a new position in Mastercard during the fourth quarter worth about $73,000. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB boosted its position in Mastercard by 3.1% during the first quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB now owns 11,522 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $6,315,000 after acquiring an additional 346 shares during the last quarter. Kera Capital Partners Inc. boosted its position in Mastercard by 10.3% during the first quarter. Kera Capital Partners Inc. now owns 450 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $247,000 after acquiring an additional 42 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Park National Corp OH boosted its position in Mastercard by 17.0% during the first quarter. Park National Corp OH now owns 1,052 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $577,000 after acquiring an additional 153 shares during the last quarter. 97.28% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.

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