Mastercard (NYSE:MA) Stock Price Down 0.3% – Here’s What Happened

Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA)’s stock price fell 0.3% during mid-day trading on Thursday . The company traded as low as $512.33 and last traded at $512.46. 482,978 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 80% from the average session volume of 2,432,917 shares. The stock had previously closed at $514.07.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on MA shares. Compass Point initiated coverage on Mastercard in a research note on Wednesday, September 4th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $525.00 target price on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price objective on shares of Mastercard from $500.00 to $526.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 1st. Bank of America increased their target price on shares of Mastercard from $480.00 to $509.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 17th. KeyCorp lifted their price target on shares of Mastercard from $490.00 to $515.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, August 1st. Finally, Barclays increased their price objective on Mastercard from $536.00 to $576.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, October 10th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eighteen have issued a buy rating and three have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $524.64.

Mastercard Stock Up 0.5 %

The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $486.90 and its 200-day simple moving average is $464.21. The firm has a market capitalization of $480.10 billion, a PE ratio of 41.05, a PEG ratio of 2.22 and a beta of 1.10. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.95, a quick ratio of 1.14 and a current ratio of 1.14.

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

Mastercard Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 8th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, October 9th will be given a dividend of $0.66 per share. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, October 9th. This represents a $2.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.51%. Mastercard’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 20.99%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Mastercard news, major shareholder Foundation Mastercard sold 119,000 shares of Mastercard stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $468.46, for a total transaction of $55,746,740.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 92,033,308 shares in the company, valued at $43,113,923,465.68. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. In related news, CMO Venkata R. Madabhushi sold 4,685 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, September 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $493.10, for a total value of $2,310,173.50. Following the completion of the sale, the chief marketing officer now owns 17,118 shares in the company, valued at $8,440,885.80. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, major shareholder Foundation Mastercard sold 119,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $468.46, for a total transaction of $55,746,740.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 92,033,308 shares in the company, valued at $43,113,923,465.68. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 340,809 shares of company stock worth $159,610,703. Insiders own 0.10% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Mastercard

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in MA. Westend Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in Mastercard in the first quarter worth $27,000. Palisade Asset Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Mastercard in the 1st quarter valued at about $27,000. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL purchased a new stake in Mastercard during the 2nd quarter valued at about $34,000. Fairway Wealth LLC bought a new position in Mastercard during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $35,000. Finally, Lowe Wealth Advisors LLC increased its stake in Mastercard by 74.0% in the 3rd quarter. Lowe Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 87 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $43,000 after purchasing an additional 37 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 97.28% of the company’s stock.

About Mastercard

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.