Mastercard (NYSE:MA) Raised to "Buy" at Wall Street Zen

Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Mastercard (NYSE:MA - Free Report) from a hold rating to a buy rating in a report issued on Friday morning.

MA has been the subject of several other research reports. Seaport Res Ptn raised Mastercard from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Monday, July 14th. Evercore ISI began coverage on Mastercard in a research note on Wednesday, April 9th. They issued an "in-line" rating and a $550.00 target price for the company. UBS Group boosted their target price on Mastercard from $660.00 to $670.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, June 3rd. Wolfe Research set a $655.00 target price on Mastercard in a research report on Monday, June 23rd. Finally, Monness Crespi & Hardt lowered shares of Mastercard from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 9th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-five have given a buy rating and three have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Mastercard presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $612.90.

Mastercard Stock Down 0.6%

Shares of NYSE MA traded down $3.09 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $552.52. 2,579,579 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,665,575. The firm has a market capitalization of $503.74 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 38.75, a PEG ratio of 2.39 and a beta of 1.02. Mastercard has a twelve month low of $428.86 and a twelve month high of $594.71. The company has a current ratio of 1.11, a quick ratio of 1.11 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.81. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $567.30 and a 200 day simple moving average of $548.59.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 1st. The credit services provider reported $3.73 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $3.57 by $0.16. Mastercard had a net margin of 45.21% and a return on equity of 196.87%. 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 previous year, the business earned $3.31 earnings per share. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 14.2% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts expect that Mastercard will post 15.91 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Mastercard Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 8th. Investors of record on Wednesday, July 9th will be paid a $0.76 dividend. This represents a $3.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.55%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, July 9th. Mastercard's payout ratio is presently 21.32%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Julius Genachowski sold 312 shares of Mastercard stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, July 7th. The stock was 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 approximately $4,833,004.23. The trade was a 3.55% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider Linda Pistecchia Kirkpatrick sold 958 shares of Mastercard stock in a transaction on Monday, June 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $560.00, for a total value of $536,480.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 23,624 shares in the company, valued at approximately $13,229,440. The trade was a 3.90% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 38,753 shares of company stock valued at $20,351,084. 0.09% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Mastercard

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Family Legacy Financial Solutions LLC bought a new position in Mastercard in the 2nd quarter worth about $26,000. Flaharty Asset Management LLC purchased a new position in Mastercard during the first quarter valued at $27,000. Keystone Global Partners LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Mastercard in the first quarter valued at about $31,000. Measured Risk Portfolios Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Mastercard in the 4th quarter worth $31,000. Finally, 10Elms LLP acquired a new stake in Mastercard in the 4th quarter valued at about $33,000. 97.28% of the stock is owned by 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.