Mastercard (NYSE:MA) Price Target Raised to $584.00

Mastercard (NYSE:MA) had its target price raised by Citigroup from $572.00 to $584.00 in a research report released on Tuesday morning,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has a buy rating on the credit services provider’s stock.

MA has been the subject of a number of other research reports. KeyCorp lifted their price objective on shares of Mastercard from $515.00 to $580.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, November 1st. Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on shares of Mastercard from $564.00 to $654.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 18th. UBS Group increased their price objective on Mastercard from $590.00 to $610.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 14th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft boosted their target price on Mastercard from $510.00 to $580.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Finally, Macquarie increased their price target on Mastercard from $505.00 to $565.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, November 1st. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-two have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $566.63.

Mastercard Stock Up 0.7 %

Shares of NYSE MA opened at $508.49 on Tuesday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.29, a current ratio of 1.29 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.36. The business’s 50 day moving average is $524.14 and its two-hundred day moving average is $493.23. Mastercard has a 52-week low of $425.48 and a 52-week high of $537.70. The firm has a market cap of $466.71 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 38.46, a PEG ratio of 2.36 and a beta of 1.10.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 31st. The credit services provider reported $3.89 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.73 by $0.16. The firm had revenue of $7.37 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.27 billion. Mastercard had a return on equity of 178.27% and a net margin of 45.26%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 12.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $3.39 EPS. Research analysts predict that Mastercard will post 14.47 EPS for the current year.

Mastercard announced that its Board of Directors has approved a share buyback 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 reacquire up to 2.5% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are usually an indication that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Mastercard Increases Dividend

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

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Mastercard

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Highline Wealth Partners LLC acquired a new stake in Mastercard in the third quarter valued at $25,000. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL purchased a new position in shares of Mastercard in the 2nd quarter valued at about $34,000. Fairway Wealth LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Mastercard in the second quarter valued at about $35,000. First Personal Financial Services purchased a new stake in Mastercard during the third quarter worth about $39,000. Finally, Lowe Wealth Advisors LLC grew its position in Mastercard by 74.0% during the third quarter. Lowe Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 87 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $43,000 after buying an additional 37 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.