Mastercard (NYSE:MA) Price Target Increased to $526.00 by Analysts at Royal Bank of Canada

Mastercard (NYSE:MA) had its price objective boosted by Royal Bank of Canada from $500.00 to $526.00 in a research report report published on Thursday, Benzinga reports. They currently have an outperform rating on the credit services provider’s stock.

Several other analysts have also issued reports on MA. Barclays cut their price target on Mastercard from $549.00 to $530.00 and set an overweight rating for the company in a report on Monday, May 6th. Mizuho reduced their target price on shares of Mastercard from $480.00 to $478.00 and set a buy rating for the company in a report on Thursday, May 2nd. BNP Paribas raised shares of Mastercard to a strong-buy rating in a report on Thursday, July 25th. TD Cowen started coverage on shares of Mastercard in a research note on Thursday, April 11th. They issued a buy rating and a $545.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Bank of America cut Mastercard from a buy rating to a neutral rating and lowered their price target for the stock from $505.00 to $480.00 in a report on Wednesday, July 10th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-one have given a buy rating and three have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of Buy and a consensus target price of $507.27.

Mastercard Stock Performance

MA stock traded up $0.61 during trading on Thursday, reaching $463.02. The stock had a trading volume of 2,098,188 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,498,478. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $446.26 and its two-hundred day moving average is $456.40. The firm has a market cap of $430.43 billion, a PE ratio of 36.91, a PEG ratio of 1.83 and a beta of 1.09. Mastercard has a 52 week low of $359.77 and a 52 week high of $490.00. The company has a current ratio of 1.09, a quick ratio of 1.09 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.86.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 1st. The credit services provider reported $3.31 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.22 by $0.09. Mastercard had a net margin of 46.45% and a return on equity of 183.61%. The company had revenue of $6.35 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.34 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $2.80 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 10.4% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Mastercard will post 14.26 earnings per share for the current year.

Mastercard Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 9th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, July 9th will be paid a $0.66 dividend. This represents a $2.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.57%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, July 9th. Mastercard’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 20.99%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, insider Sandra A. Arkell sold 300 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, May 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $447.23, for a total transaction of $134,169.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 4,063 shares in the company, valued at $1,817,095.49. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. In related news, insider Sandra A. Arkell sold 300 shares of Mastercard stock in a transaction on Monday, May 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $447.23, for a total value of $134,169.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 4,063 shares in the company, valued at $1,817,095.49. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Raj Seshadri sold 5,216 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $446.71, for a total value of $2,330,039.36. Following the sale, the insider now owns 15,183 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,782,397.93. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 2,462,228 shares of company stock valued at $1,110,349,560. 0.10% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Mastercard

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in MA. Altshuler Shaham Ltd purchased a new stake in Mastercard in the fourth quarter valued at $26,000. VitalStone Financial LLC increased its position in shares of Mastercard by 300.0% during the fourth quarter. VitalStone Financial LLC now owns 60 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 45 shares in the last quarter. Westend Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Mastercard in the 1st quarter valued at about $27,000. Palisade Asset Management LLC purchased a new position in Mastercard during the 1st quarter worth approximately $27,000. Finally, Scarborough Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Mastercard during the fourth quarter worth approximately $28,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 97.28% of the company’s stock.

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.