JPMorgan Chase & Co. Cuts Mastercard (NYSE:MA) Price Target to $500.00

Mastercard (NYSE:MA) had its price target decreased by JPMorgan Chase & Co. from $510.00 to $500.00 in a research report released on Thursday, Benzinga reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. currently has an overweight rating on the credit services provider’s stock.

MA has been the subject of a number of other research reports. Robert W. Baird raised their price objective on shares of Mastercard from $525.00 to $545.00 and gave the company an outperform rating in a research report on Thursday, April 18th. Mizuho decreased their price objective on shares of Mastercard from $480.00 to $478.00 and set a buy rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, May 2nd. Piper Sandler assumed coverage on Mastercard in a report on Monday, May 13th. They set an overweight rating and a $531.00 target price on the stock. Susquehanna reaffirmed a positive rating and set a $535.00 price target on shares of Mastercard in a research note on Wednesday, April 3rd. Finally, Bank of America downgraded Mastercard from a buy rating to a neutral rating and lowered their price objective for the company from $505.00 to $480.00 in a research report on Wednesday, July 10th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-three have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Mastercard currently has an average rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus target price of $498.13.

Mastercard Stock Down 0.5 %

Mastercard stock opened at $448.95 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.86, a quick ratio of 1.09 and a current ratio of 1.09. Mastercard has a fifty-two week low of $359.77 and a fifty-two week high of $490.00. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $448.74 and a 200-day simple moving average of $454.91. The company has a market capitalization of $417.35 billion, a P/E ratio of 35.69, a PEG ratio of 1.78 and a beta of 1.09.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, May 1st. The credit services provider reported $3.31 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.22 by $0.09. Mastercard had a net margin of 46.09% and a return on equity of 183.70%. The business had revenue of $6.35 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.34 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $2.80 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 10.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts expect that Mastercard will post 14.25 earnings per share for the current year.

Mastercard Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 9th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, July 9th will be given a $0.66 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, July 9th. This represents a $2.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.59%. Mastercard’s payout ratio is currently 20.99%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Mastercard

In other news, insider Sandra A. Arkell sold 300 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the insider now directly owns 4,063 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,817,095.49. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. In other news, insider Sandra A. Arkell sold 300 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the insider now directly owns 4,063 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,817,095.49. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, major shareholder Foundation Mastercard sold 109,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, April 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $462.78, for a total transaction of $50,443,020.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 96,996,308 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $44,887,951,416.24. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 3,052,228 shares of company stock worth $1,377,797,220 in the last 90 days. 0.10% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Mastercard

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Westend Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Mastercard in the 1st quarter worth approximately $27,000. Palisade Asset Management LLC bought a new stake in Mastercard in the first quarter worth approximately $27,000. VitalStone Financial LLC increased its position in 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 buying an additional 45 shares during the last quarter. Altshuler Shaham Ltd bought a new position in shares of Mastercard in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Finally, LFA Lugano Financial Advisors SA acquired a new stake in shares of Mastercard in the fourth quarter worth $27,000. 97.28% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

About Mastercard

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.