Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) Receives $664.71 Average Target Price from Brokerages

Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) has received a consensus rating of “Buy” from the thirty-one ratings firms that are covering the stock, Marketbeat Ratings reports. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, twenty-five have issued a buy recommendation and five have issued a strong buy recommendation on the company. The average 12-month target price among analysts that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $664.7143.

A number of research firms have commented on MA. TD Cowen upped their target price on shares of Mastercard from $664.00 to $667.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, July 31st. Clear Str upgraded shares of Mastercard to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 16th. Weiss Ratings raised shares of Mastercard from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research note on Monday, August 17th. Wolfe Research upped their price objective on shares of Mastercard from $680.00 to $740.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 25th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada upped their price objective on shares of Mastercard from $629.00 to $642.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, July 31st.

More Mastercard News

Here are the key news stories impacting Mastercard this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Mastercard and QNB Group processed Syria’s first international card transaction in more than 15 years. The milestone marks the reopening and modernization of Syria’s international payments infrastructure following the lifting of certain U.S. restrictions. Although the near-term financial contribution is likely to be small, the development creates a potential new market and demonstrates Mastercard’s ability to support payments expansion. Syria marks first international card transaction in more than 15 years with Mastercard and QNB Group
• Positive Sentiment: Analysts have given Mastercard a consensus “Buy” rating. Continued Wall Street support adds to the bullish backdrop, though the rating itself may already be reflected in the share price. Mastercard Incorporated Given Consensus Rating of Buy by Analysts
• Positive Sentiment: Pershing Square founder Bill Ackman added Mastercard to the hedge fund’s portfolio. The purchase may improve investor sentiment by signaling confidence from a prominent long-term investor, although it does not change Mastercard’s operating outlook. Bill Ackman Just Made His Biggest Portfolio Overhaul in Years
• Positive Sentiment: A partnership with Klook targets growing travel and experiences spending across Asia Pacific. Mastercard cardholder benefits and additional travel-related payment touchpoints could support transaction volume in a high-growth region. Klook and Mastercard collaborate to enhance travelers’ experiences across Asia Pacific
• Neutral Sentiment: Mastercard will participate in the Goldman Sachs Communacopia + Technology Conference on September 10, where CFO Ling Hai is scheduled to speak. Investors may look for updates on growth, margins and capital allocation, but no new financial information was provided. Mastercard to Participate in Upcoming Investor Conference
• Neutral Sentiment: Mastercard’s name appears as a supporter of an XRPL/Ripple hackathon, but reports caution that the sponsorship does not represent a new cryptocurrency partnership or major product launch. Mastercard’s Name Is on the Ripple Hackathon, But Don’t Get Ahead of Yourself

Mastercard Price Performance

MA stock opened at $595.51 on Friday. Mastercard has a 52-week low of $464.52 and a 52-week high of $601.62. The company has a quick ratio of 1.06, a current ratio of 1.06 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.96. The stock has a market cap of $521.67 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.76, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.79 and a beta of 0.71. The business has a fifty day moving average of $549.15 and a two-hundred day moving average of $519.51.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 30th. The credit services provider reported $5.04 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $4.77 by $0.27. The business had revenue of $9.28 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $9.08 billion. Mastercard had a return on equity of 239.99% and a net margin of 46.34%.The company’s quarterly revenue was up 14.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $4.15 EPS. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Mastercard will post 19.86 earnings per share for the current year.

Mastercard Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 7th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, July 9th were given a $0.87 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, July 9th. This represents a $3.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.6%. Mastercard’s payout ratio is presently 19.14%.

Insider Activity at Mastercard

In related news, insider Raj Seshadri sold 4,828 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, July 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $525.00, for a total transaction of $2,534,700.00. Following the transaction, the insider owned 16,429 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,625,225. This represents a 22.71% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, insider J. Mehra Sachin sold 7,444 shares of Mastercard stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $577.13, for a total value of $4,296,155.72. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 40,916 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $23,613,851.08. This represents a 15.39% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders sold 71,357 shares of company stock valued at $40,637,262 over the last ninety days. 0.09% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Riggs Asset Managment Co. Inc. raised its stake in Mastercard by 20.0% in the 2nd quarter. Riggs Asset Managment Co. Inc. now owns 108 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $61,000 after purchasing an additional 18 shares during the last quarter. Resurgent Financial Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Mastercard by 1.2% during the 3rd quarter. Resurgent Financial Advisors LLC now owns 1,597 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $908,000 after purchasing an additional 19 shares during the last quarter. Silicon Valley Capital Partners boosted its stake in shares of Mastercard by 1.1% during the 3rd quarter. Silicon Valley Capital Partners now owns 1,717 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $977,000 after purchasing an additional 19 shares during the last quarter. Castle Rock Wealth Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Mastercard by 2.8% during the fourth quarter. Castle Rock Wealth Management LLC now owns 695 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $387,000 after buying an additional 19 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Athena Wealth Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Mastercard by 3.8% during the second quarter. Athena Wealth Management LLC now owns 514 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $264,000 after buying an additional 19 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 97.28% of the company’s stock.

Mastercard Company Profile

Mastercard Incorporated is a global payments technology company that operates a network connecting consumers, financial institutions, merchants, governments and businesses in more than 200 countries and territories. The company facilitates electronic payments and transaction processing for credit, debit and prepaid card products carrying the Mastercard brand, while also providing a range of payment-related services to issuers, acquirers and merchants. Its technology and network enable authorization, clearing and settlement of payments and support a broad set of use cases including point-of-sale, e-commerce and mobile payments.

Beyond core transaction processing, Mastercard offers a suite of value-added services such as fraud and risk management, identity and authentication tools, tokenization and digital wallet support, cross-border and commercial payment solutions, and data analytics and consulting services for merchants and financial partners.