Mastercard (NYSE:MA) Price Target Raised to $650.00

Mastercard (NYSE:MA) had its target price boosted by stock analysts at Citigroup from $584.00 to $650.00 in a research report issued on Friday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage presently has a “buy” rating on the credit services provider’s stock. Citigroup’s price target suggests a potential upside of 16.38% from the stock’s previous close.

Several other research analysts also recently commented on MA. Susquehanna lifted their target price on Mastercard from $605.00 to $670.00 and gave the stock a “positive” rating in a research note on Friday. UBS Group lifted their target price on Mastercard from $600.00 to $660.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday. Macquarie lifted their target price on Mastercard from $565.00 to $645.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday. Seaport Res Ptn downgraded Mastercard from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 14th. Finally, Mizuho boosted their price target on Mastercard from $496.00 to $532.00 and gave the company 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 given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $595.64.

Mastercard Stock Down 1.3 %

MA stock traded down $7.50 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $558.51. The company had a trading volume of 2,656,115 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,771,084. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.36, a current ratio of 1.29 and a quick ratio of 1.29. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $527.58 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $500.25. The company has a market capitalization of $512.62 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 42.26, a PEG ratio of 2.17 and a beta of 1.10. Mastercard has a 52 week low of $428.86 and a 52 week high of $576.94.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The credit services provider reported $3.82 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.71 by $0.11. Mastercard had a return on equity of 178.27% and a net margin of 45.26%. As a group, equities analysts predict that Mastercard will post 14.47 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Mastercard

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Key Financial Inc grew its position in shares of Mastercard by 1.6% in the 4th quarter. Key Financial Inc now owns 1,483 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $781,000 after buying an additional 23 shares during the last quarter. Waycross Partners LLC grew its position in shares of Mastercard by 3.8% in the 4th quarter. Waycross Partners LLC now owns 45,239 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $23,822,000 after buying an additional 1,656 shares during the last quarter. Bfsg LLC grew its position in shares of Mastercard by 0.6% in the 4th quarter. Bfsg LLC now owns 11,140 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $5,866,000 after buying an additional 69 shares during the last quarter. GAM Holding AG grew its position in shares of Mastercard by 4.0% in the 4th quarter. GAM Holding AG now owns 24,833 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $13,076,000 after buying an additional 957 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Kornitzer Capital Management Inc. KS boosted its position in shares of Mastercard by 4.0% during the 4th quarter. Kornitzer Capital Management Inc. KS now owns 22,028 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $11,599,000 after purchasing an additional 841 shares in the last quarter. 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.