Mastercard Incorporated (MA) to Issue Quarterly Dividend of $0.76 on May 9th

Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) declared a quarterly dividend on Monday, February 10th, RTT News reports. Investors of record on Wednesday, April 9th will be given a dividend of 0.76 per share by the credit services provider on Friday, May 9th. This represents a $3.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.62%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, April 9th.

Mastercard has increased its dividend payment by an average of 14.8% annually over the last three years and has raised its dividend every year for the last 13 years. Mastercard has a payout ratio of 16.2% meaning its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Equities research analysts expect Mastercard to earn $18.61 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $3.04 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 16.3%.

Mastercard Stock Down 7.7 %

Shares of NYSE:MA opened at $489.94 on Monday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.03, a current ratio of 1.03 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.68. Mastercard has a 52-week low of $428.86 and a 52-week high of $582.23. The business has a fifty day moving average of $550.92 and a two-hundred day moving average of $528.50. The stock has a market cap of $446.68 billion, a P/E ratio of 35.27, a PEG ratio of 2.37 and a beta of 1.06.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 30th. The credit services provider reported $3.82 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.71 by $0.11. Mastercard had a return on equity of 188.47% and a net margin of 45.71%. On average, research analysts expect that Mastercard will post 15.91 earnings per share for the current year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price target on shares of Mastercard from $590.00 to $610.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, December 9th. Raymond James reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $640.00 price target (up previously from $614.00) on shares of Mastercard in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Monness Crespi & Hardt upgraded shares of Mastercard from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $640.00 target price on the stock in a report on Friday, January 31st. Oppenheimer reduced their target price on shares of Mastercard from $591.00 to $588.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, December 19th. Finally, Tigress Financial restated a “strong-buy” rating on shares of Mastercard in a research note on Monday, March 10th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-four have assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $606.11.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Mastercard news, CEO Michael Miebach sold 15,775 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $550.16, for a total transaction of $8,678,774.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 84,871 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $46,692,629.36. This trade represents a 15.67 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider Edward Grunde Mclaughlin sold 7,132 shares of Mastercard stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $534.68, for a total value of $3,813,337.76. Following the sale, the insider now owns 34,524 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $18,459,292.32. This represents a 17.12 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.10% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Mastercard

An institutional investor recently raised its position in Mastercard stock. Brighton Jones LLC grew its stake in shares of Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) by 42.3% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 6,824 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 2,028 shares during the quarter. Brighton Jones LLC’s holdings in Mastercard were worth $3,594,000 at the end of the most recent quarter. 97.28% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Mastercard announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock repurchase plan on Tuesday, December 17th that authorizes the company to repurchase $12.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the credit services provider to purchase up to 2.5% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are often an indication that the company’s management believes its shares are 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.