Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) Receives Average Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from Analysts

Shares of Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) have been given a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by the twenty-six research firms that are presently covering the firm, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation, twenty-two have issued a buy recommendation and one has given a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average 1-year price objective among brokerages that have covered the stock in the last year is $566.13.

Several analysts have recently weighed in on MA shares. William Blair reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of Mastercard in a report on Monday, November 25th. BMO Capital Markets lifted their price objective on Mastercard from $550.00 to $565.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, November 14th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft increased their target price on Mastercard from $510.00 to $580.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, November 1st. KeyCorp lifted their price target on Mastercard from $515.00 to $580.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Finally, Piper Sandler reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $575.00 price objective (up previously from $565.00) on shares of Mastercard in a research report on Friday, November 15th.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. RMR Wealth Builders grew its holdings in shares of Mastercard by 0.9% during the 4th quarter. RMR Wealth Builders now owns 4,526 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $2,383,000 after purchasing an additional 40 shares during the period. Trinity Financial Advisors LLC lifted its position in Mastercard by 24.4% during the fourth quarter. Trinity Financial Advisors LLC now owns 713 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $372,000 after buying an additional 140 shares in the last quarter. Lowe Wealth Advisors LLC grew its stake in Mastercard by 24.1% during the fourth quarter. Lowe Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 108 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $57,000 after buying an additional 21 shares during the period. Sugarloaf Wealth Management LLC increased its position in shares of Mastercard by 62.9% in the fourth quarter. Sugarloaf Wealth Management LLC now owns 228 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $120,000 after acquiring an additional 88 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Highline Wealth Partners LLC raised its stake in shares of Mastercard by 72.5% in the 4th quarter. Highline Wealth Partners LLC now owns 88 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $46,000 after acquiring an additional 37 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 97.28% of the company’s stock.

Mastercard Stock Performance

Shares of MA stock opened at $505.52 on Friday. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $524.09 and its 200 day moving average price is $492.03. 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 stock has a market capitalization of $463.98 billion, a PE ratio of 38.24, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.36 and a beta of 1.10. Mastercard has a 52-week low of $425.48 and a 52-week high of $537.70.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA) last released its earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The credit services provider reported $3.89 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.73 by $0.16. Mastercard had a return on equity of 178.27% and a net margin of 45.26%. The business had revenue of $7.37 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.27 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $3.39 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 12.8% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Mastercard will post 14.47 EPS for the current year.

Mastercard Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 7th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, January 9th will be paid a dividend of $0.76 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, January 10th. This represents a $3.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.60%. This is an increase from Mastercard’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.66. Mastercard’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 23.00%.

Mastercard announced that its board has approved a share repurchase program on Tuesday, December 17th that permits the company to buyback $12.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization permits the credit services provider to purchase up to 2.5% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are generally an indication that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

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.