Mastercard (NYSE:MA) Trading Up 1.3% – Here’s Why

Shares of Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) rose 1.3% during mid-day trading on Wednesday . The stock traded as high as $535.74 and last traded at $535.71. Approximately 955,015 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 62% from the average daily volume of 2,480,653 shares. The stock had previously closed at $528.96.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

MA has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Robert W. Baird upped their price objective on Mastercard from $545.00 to $575.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 16th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their target price on shares of Mastercard from $580.00 to $618.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, December 9th. Bank of America lifted their price target on Mastercard from $480.00 to $509.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 17th. KeyCorp boosted their target price on shares of Mastercard from $515.00 to $580.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Finally, Barclays increased their target price on shares of Mastercard from $536.00 to $576.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 10th. 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’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $562.76.

Mastercard Price Performance

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 company has a market capitalization of $491.69 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 40.52, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.36 and a beta of 1.10. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $521.13 and its 200-day moving average price is $485.73.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA) last announced 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 analysts’ expectations of $7.27 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $3.39 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 12.8% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts anticipate that Mastercard Incorporated will post 14.47 earnings per share for the current year.

Mastercard Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 7th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, January 9th will be issued a dividend of $0.76 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, January 9th. This represents a $3.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.57%. This is a boost from Mastercard’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.66. Mastercard’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 23.00%.

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

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Mastercard

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of MA. Garden State Investment Advisory Services LLC increased its position in shares of Mastercard by 5.0% in the 3rd quarter. Garden State Investment Advisory Services LLC now owns 655 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $324,000 after buying an additional 31 shares in the last quarter. American Trust increased its holdings in shares of Mastercard by 13.8% in the third quarter. American Trust now owns 11,157 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $5,509,000 after acquiring an additional 1,352 shares in the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Mastercard by 4.2% during the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 7,501,814 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $3,800,836,000 after purchasing an additional 304,293 shares in the last quarter. Synovus Financial Corp grew its position in shares of Mastercard by 13.2% in the 3rd quarter. Synovus Financial Corp now owns 41,645 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $20,563,000 after purchasing an additional 4,843 shares during the period. Finally, Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB increased its stake in Mastercard by 30.3% during the 3rd quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB now owns 75,960 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $37,509,000 after purchasing an additional 17,648 shares in the last quarter. 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.