Mastercard Incorporated (MA) To Go Ex-Dividend on January 9th

Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) announced a quarterly dividend on Tuesday, December 17th,RTT News reports. Stockholders of record on Thursday, January 9th will be given a dividend of 0.76 per share by the credit services provider on Friday, February 7th. This represents a $3.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.58%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, January 9th. This is a boost from Mastercard’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.66.

Mastercard has raised its dividend payment by an average of 12.5% annually over the last three years and has increased its dividend every year for the last 12 years. Mastercard has a dividend payout ratio of 16.2% indicating that its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Research analysts expect Mastercard to earn $16.27 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $2.64 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 16.2%.

Mastercard Price Performance

NYSE:MA opened at $519.96 on Thursday. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $519.10 and a two-hundred day moving average of $483.15. Mastercard has a 12 month low of $416.53 and a 12 month high of $537.13. The firm has a market cap of $477.24 billion, a P/E ratio of 39.33, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.38 and a beta of 1.10. The company has a current ratio of 1.29, a quick ratio of 1.29 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.36.

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 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 45.26% and a return on equity of 178.27%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 12.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $3.39 EPS. On average, analysts expect that Mastercard will post 14.47 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

MA has been the subject of several analyst reports. Piper Sandler reissued an “overweight” rating and set a $575.00 target price (up from $565.00) on shares of Mastercard in a research note on Friday, November 15th. Compass Point assumed coverage on Mastercard in a report on Wednesday, September 4th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $525.00 price target for the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their target price on Mastercard from $593.00 to $580.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, November 1st. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft increased their price target on shares of Mastercard from $510.00 to $580.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Finally, Susquehanna lifted their price target on shares of Mastercard from $540.00 to $605.00 and gave the stock a “positive” rating in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-three have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $562.88.

Mastercard announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock repurchase plan on Tuesday, December 17th that authorizes the company to repurchase $12.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the credit services provider to purchase up to 2.5% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are often an indication that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Transactions at Mastercard

In related news, CMO Venkata R. Madabhushi sold 4,685 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, September 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $489.86, for a total value of $2,294,994.10. Following the completion of the sale, the chief marketing officer now owns 15,031 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,363,085.66. This represents a 23.76 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.10% 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.