Mastercard (NYSE:MA) Trading 0.8% Higher – Should You Buy?

Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA)’s stock price rose 0.8% during mid-day trading on Monday . The company traded as high as $506.66 and last traded at $506.32. Approximately 339,877 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 86% from the average daily volume of 2,429,302 shares. The stock had previously closed at $502.26.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on MA shares. Piper Sandler lifted their target price on shares of Mastercard from $531.00 to $536.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, August 2nd. Argus raised shares of Mastercard to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Thursday, August 1st. Evercore ISI cut their price target on Mastercard from $540.00 to $525.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, June 25th. BNP Paribas cut Mastercard from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $470.00 price target for the company. in a research report on Tuesday, September 3rd. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on Mastercard from $500.00 to $570.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 20th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eighteen have given a buy rating and three have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $523.27.

Mastercard Stock Up 0.9 %

The company has a current ratio of 1.14, a quick ratio of 1.14 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.95. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $480.78 and a 200 day simple moving average of $462.88. The firm has a market capitalization of $471.22 billion, a PE ratio of 40.25, a PEG ratio of 2.22 and a beta of 1.10.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 31st. The credit services provider reported $3.59 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.51 by $0.08. The firm had revenue of $6.96 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.85 billion. Mastercard had a net margin of 46.45% and a return on equity of 179.78%. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Mastercard Incorporated will post 14.3 earnings per share for the current year.

Mastercard Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 8th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, October 9th will be paid a dividend of $0.66 per share. This represents a $2.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.52%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, October 9th. Mastercard’s payout ratio is 20.99%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CMO Venkata R. Madabhushi sold 4,685 shares of Mastercard stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, September 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $493.10, for a total transaction of $2,310,173.50. Following the sale, the chief marketing officer now directly owns 17,118 shares in the company, valued at $8,440,885.80. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. In related news, CFO J. Mehra Sachin sold 13,439 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $455.00, for a total value of $6,114,745.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 27,304 shares in the company, valued at $12,423,320. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CMO Venkata R. Madabhushi sold 4,685 shares of Mastercard stock in a transaction on Friday, September 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $493.10, for a total value of $2,310,173.50. Following the transaction, the chief marketing officer now owns 17,118 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,440,885.80. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 340,809 shares of company stock worth $159,610,703 over the last three months. Company insiders own 0.10% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Mastercard

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. McLean Asset Management Corp boosted its stake in shares of Mastercard by 1.3% in the third quarter. McLean Asset Management Corp now owns 1,677 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $834,000 after buying an additional 21 shares in the last quarter. Hoxton Planning & Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Mastercard by 1.4% during the 1st quarter. Hoxton Planning & Management LLC now owns 1,637 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $788,000 after purchasing an additional 22 shares in the last quarter. Quilter Plc grew its stake in shares of Mastercard by 2.8% during the 2nd quarter. Quilter Plc now owns 801 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $353,000 after purchasing an additional 22 shares during the period. Benin Management CORP increased its holdings in shares of Mastercard by 3.0% in the 1st quarter. Benin Management CORP now owns 794 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $382,000 after purchasing an additional 23 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Atticus Wealth Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Mastercard by 1.3% in the first quarter. Atticus Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,734 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $835,000 after purchasing an additional 23 shares during the period. 97.28% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.