Mastercard (NYSE:MA) Reaches New 52-Week High Following Better-Than-Expected Earnings

Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) reached a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Thursday following a stronger than expected earnings report. The company traded as high as $527.90 and last traded at $526.74, with a volume of 221963 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $513.69.

The credit services provider reported $3.89 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.73 by $0.16. The company had revenue of $7.37 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $7.27 billion. Mastercard had a net margin of 46.45% and a return on equity of 179.78%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 12.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company earned $3.39 EPS.

Mastercard Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 8th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, October 9th will be issued a $0.66 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, October 9th. This represents a $2.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.52%. Mastercard’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 20.18%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have recently commented on MA. Barclays lifted their price objective on Mastercard from $536.00 to $576.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 10th. TD Cowen upped their price objective on shares of Mastercard from $532.00 to $533.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 1st. Oppenheimer began coverage on shares of Mastercard in a research report on Tuesday, October 1st. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $591.00 target price on the stock. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft increased their price target on shares of Mastercard from $510.00 to $580.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday. Finally, BNP Paribas downgraded Mastercard from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $470.00 price objective for the company. in a report on Tuesday, September 3rd. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty have given a buy rating and three have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $537.92.

Insider Activity

In other news, major shareholder Foundation Mastercard sold 119,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $468.46, for a total value of $55,746,740.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 92,033,308 shares in the company, valued at approximately $43,113,923,465.68. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other Mastercard news, CFO J. Mehra Sachin sold 13,439 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $455.00, for a total transaction of $6,114,745.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 27,304 shares in the company, valued at approximately $12,423,320. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, major shareholder Foundation Mastercard sold 119,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $468.46, for a total value of $55,746,740.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 92,033,308 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $43,113,923,465.68. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 340,809 shares of company stock worth $159,610,703. 0.10% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Mastercard

Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Transcendent Capital Group LLC grew its position in Mastercard by 4.8% during the third quarter. Transcendent Capital Group LLC now owns 455 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $225,000 after purchasing an additional 21 shares in the last quarter. Covestor Ltd lifted its stake in shares of Mastercard by 4.1% in the third quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 1,185 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $586,000 after buying an additional 47 shares during the last quarter. Troy Asset Management Ltd boosted its holdings in Mastercard by 11.7% during the third quarter. Troy Asset Management Ltd now owns 138,770 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $68,525,000 after acquiring an additional 14,556 shares during the period. Mesirow Financial Investment Management Inc. grew its holdings in Mastercard by 0.5% in the 3rd quarter. Mesirow Financial Investment Management Inc. now owns 57,351 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $28,324,000 after buying an additional 312 shares during the last quarter. Finally, XML Financial LLC increased its position in Mastercard by 43.3% during the third quarter. XML Financial LLC now owns 993 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $491,000 after acquiring an additional 300 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 97.28% of the company’s stock.

Mastercard Price Performance

The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $495.77 and its 200 day moving average price is $466.84. The company has a quick ratio of 1.14, a current ratio of 1.14 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.95. The firm has a market cap of $469.52 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 38.86, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.27 and a beta of 1.10.

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.