Mastercard (NYSE:MA) Trading Up 0.9% – Here’s Why

Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) shares traded up 0.9% during mid-day trading on Thursday . The stock traded as high as $517.45 and last traded at $516.06. 2,456,664 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, an increase of 2% from the average session volume of 2,407,110 shares. The stock had previously closed at $511.40.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have issued reports on the company. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price objective on Mastercard from $590.00 to $610.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, December 9th. Susquehanna lifted their target price on Mastercard from $540.00 to $605.00 and gave the company a “positive” rating in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Barclays lifted their target price on Mastercard from $536.00 to $576.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 10th. Bank of America lifted their price objective on Mastercard from $480.00 to $509.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 17th. Finally, KeyCorp lifted their price objective on Mastercard from $515.00 to $580.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-three have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Mastercard currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $562.76.

Mastercard Price Performance

The stock has a market capitalization of $463.98 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 38.24, a P/E/G ratio of 2.36 and a beta of 1.10. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $524.09 and a 200 day simple moving average of $491.78. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.36, a quick ratio of 1.29 and a current ratio of 1.29.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 31st. The credit services provider reported $3.89 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.73 by $0.16. Mastercard had a return on equity of 178.27% and a net margin of 45.26%. The firm had revenue of $7.37 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.27 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted $3.39 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 12.8% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts forecast that Mastercard Incorporated will post 14.47 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Mastercard Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 7th. Investors of record on Thursday, January 9th will be given a $0.76 dividend. This represents a $3.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.60%. This is a positive change from Mastercard’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.66. The ex-dividend date is Friday, January 10th. Mastercard’s payout ratio is presently 23.00%.

Mastercard announced that its Board of Directors has approved a share repurchase plan on Tuesday, December 17th that permits the company to repurchase $12.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization permits the credit services provider to repurchase up to 2.5% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are often a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Mastercard

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. International Assets Investment Management LLC increased its stake in Mastercard by 120,665.3% in the third quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 8,041,758 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $3,971,020,000 after acquiring an additional 8,035,099 shares during the last quarter. Bank of Montreal Can boosted its holdings in shares of Mastercard by 51.7% during the third quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 5,765,714 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $2,846,187,000 after purchasing an additional 1,965,782 shares during the period. FMR LLC raised its stake in Mastercard by 3.4% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 21,355,081 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $10,545,139,000 after buying an additional 700,769 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its stake in Mastercard by 2.5% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 18,375,053 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $9,043,972,000 after buying an additional 453,773 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Montrusco Bolton Investments Inc. raised its stake in Mastercard by 52.8% in the third quarter. Montrusco Bolton Investments Inc. now owns 1,185,081 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $573,017,000 after buying an additional 409,334 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 97.28% of the company’s stock.

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.