Mastercard (NYSE:MA) Hits New 52-Week High – Time to Buy?

Shares of Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) hit a new 52-week high during trading on Wednesday . The company traded as high as $535.89 and last traded at $535.19, with a volume of 932508 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $529.01.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

MA has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Barclays upped their price target on shares of Mastercard from $536.00 to $576.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 10th. Robert W. Baird increased their target price on shares of Mastercard from $545.00 to $575.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 16th. Bank of America increased their target price on shares of Mastercard from $480.00 to $509.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 17th. Mizuho increased their target price on shares of Mastercard from $496.00 to $532.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Finally, Macquarie increased their target price on shares of Mastercard from $505.00 to $565.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Four equities research 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.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $559.28.

Mastercard Stock Performance

The company’s 50-day moving average price is $515.08 and its 200 day moving average price is $479.86. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.36, a quick ratio of 1.29 and a current ratio of 1.29. The stock has a market capitalization of $490.53 billion, a PE ratio of 40.28, a PEG ratio of 2.35 and a beta of 1.10.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA) last issued its quarterly 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 during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.27 billion. Mastercard had a net margin of 45.26% and a return on equity of 178.27%. Mastercard’s quarterly revenue was up 12.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business earned $3.39 EPS. On average, equities research analysts expect that Mastercard Incorporated will post 14.47 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Mastercard Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 8th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, October 9th were paid a dividend of $0.66 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, October 9th. This represents a $2.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.49%. Mastercard’s dividend payout ratio is currently 19.97%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Mastercard

In other news, CMO Venkata R. Madabhushi sold 4,685 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, September 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $489.86, for a total transaction of $2,294,994.10. Following the sale, the chief marketing officer now owns 15,031 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,363,085.66. This trade represents a 23.76 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. 0.10% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Mastercard

Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Great Valley Advisor Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Mastercard by 12.4% in the second quarter. Great Valley Advisor Group Inc. now owns 2,602 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $1,147,000 after buying an additional 288 shares during the last quarter. Cornerstone Wealth Management LLC lifted its holdings in Mastercard by 3.0% during the second quarter. Cornerstone Wealth Management LLC now owns 4,329 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $1,910,000 after purchasing an additional 125 shares in the last quarter. AdvisorNet Financial Inc lifted its holdings in Mastercard by 2.3% during the second quarter. AdvisorNet Financial Inc now owns 4,648 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $2,051,000 after purchasing an additional 106 shares in the last quarter. 180 Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Mastercard by 8.0% during the second quarter. 180 Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,573 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $687,000 after purchasing an additional 116 shares in the last quarter. Finally, SteelPeak Wealth LLC lifted its holdings in Mastercard by 48.6% during the second quarter. SteelPeak Wealth LLC now owns 4,928 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $2,174,000 after purchasing an additional 1,612 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 97.28% of the company’s stock.

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.