Mastercard’s (MA) “Overweight” Rating Reiterated at Piper Sandler

Piper Sandler reaffirmed their overweight rating on shares of Mastercard (NYSE:MA) in a research note issued to investors on Friday,Benzinga reports. Piper Sandler currently has a $575.00 price objective on the credit services provider’s stock, up from their previous price objective of $565.00.

Several other research analysts also recently commented on the company. Mizuho increased their price target on Mastercard from $496.00 to $532.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, November 1st. Susquehanna increased their target price on Mastercard from $540.00 to $605.00 and gave the stock a “positive” rating in a report on Friday, November 1st. Bank of America lifted their price target on Mastercard from $480.00 to $509.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, September 17th. Compass Point began coverage on shares of Mastercard in a report on Wednesday, September 4th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $525.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their target price on shares of Mastercard from $593.00 to $580.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Four equities 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 data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $549.16.

Mastercard Stock Performance

Mastercard stock opened at $521.89 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $479.01 billion, a P/E ratio of 39.48, a P/E/G ratio of 2.28 and a beta of 1.10. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $504.09 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $471.38. Mastercard has a 52-week low of $395.55 and a 52-week high of $534.03. 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 announced its earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The credit services provider reported $3.89 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.73 by $0.16. The business had revenue of $7.37 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $7.27 billion. Mastercard had a net margin of 45.26% and a return on equity of 178.27%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 12.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $3.39 EPS. As a group, analysts anticipate that Mastercard will post 14.47 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Mastercard Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 8th. Investors of record on Wednesday, October 9th were paid a dividend of $0.66 per share. This represents a $2.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.51%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, October 9th. Mastercard’s payout ratio is presently 19.97%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Mastercard news, CMO Venkata R. Madabhushi sold 4,685 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, September 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $493.10, for a total transaction of $2,310,173.50. Following the sale, the chief marketing officer now directly owns 17,118 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,440,885.80. This trade represents a 21.49 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, major shareholder Foundation Mastercard sold 90,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $468.80, for a total transaction of $42,192,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 91,649,308 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $42,965,195,590.40. This trade represents a 0.10 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 99,370 shares of company stock worth $46,797,168. Corporate insiders own 0.10% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Mastercard

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Highline Wealth Partners LLC acquired a new position in Mastercard during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $25,000. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL bought a new stake in shares of Mastercard in the second quarter worth $34,000. First Personal Financial Services acquired a new position in Mastercard during the third quarter worth $39,000. Fairway Wealth LLC bought a new position in Mastercard in the second quarter valued at $35,000. Finally, Lowe Wealth Advisors LLC increased its stake in Mastercard by 74.0% in the 3rd quarter. Lowe Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 87 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $43,000 after buying an additional 37 shares during the last quarter. 97.28% of the stock is currently 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.