Mastercard (NYSE:MA) Stock Price Up 0.5% on Analyst Upgrade

Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) shares rose 0.5% during trading on Tuesday after Citigroup raised their price target on the stock from $572.00 to $584.00. Citigroup currently has a buy rating on the stock. Mastercard traded as high as $507.85 and last traded at $507.21. Approximately 696,659 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 70% from the average daily volume of 2,295,478 shares. The stock had previously closed at $504.91.

Several other brokerages have also recently issued reports on MA. Royal Bank of Canada restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $572.00 price target on shares of Mastercard in a research report on Thursday, November 14th. BMO Capital Markets boosted their target price on Mastercard from $550.00 to $565.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, November 14th. Oppenheimer decreased their price target on Mastercard from $591.00 to $588.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, December 19th. Bank of America upped their price objective on shares of Mastercard from $480.00 to $509.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 17th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their target price on shares of Mastercard from $593.00 to $580.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, November 1st. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-two have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Mastercard currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $566.63.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Mastercard

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Highline Wealth Partners LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Mastercard in the third quarter valued at about $25,000. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL purchased a new stake in Mastercard in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $34,000. First Personal Financial Services acquired a new stake in Mastercard during the 3rd quarter valued at $39,000. Lowe Wealth Advisors LLC increased its position in Mastercard by 74.0% during the third quarter. Lowe Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 87 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $43,000 after buying an additional 37 shares in the last quarter. Finally, FSA Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Mastercard in the third quarter valued at $54,000. 97.28% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Mastercard Price Performance

The firm has a market capitalization of $480.10 billion, a PE ratio of 39.57, a P/E/G ratio of 2.00 and a beta of 1.10. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $524.17 and a 200-day moving average price of $493.43. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.36, a current ratio of 1.29 and a quick ratio of 1.29.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA) last released its earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The credit services provider reported $3.89 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.73 by $0.16. The company had revenue of $7.37 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.27 billion. Mastercard had a net margin of 45.26% and a return on equity of 178.27%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 12.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $3.39 EPS. Sell-side analysts forecast that Mastercard Incorporated will post 14.46 EPS for the current year.

Mastercard Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 7th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, January 9th will be paid a dividend of $0.76 per share. This represents a $3.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.58%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, January 10th. This is a positive change from Mastercard’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.66. Mastercard’s dividend payout ratio is currently 19.97%.

Mastercard announced that its board has initiated a stock buyback program on Tuesday, December 17th that authorizes the company to repurchase $12.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the credit services provider to repurchase up to 2.5% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are usually a sign that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

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.