Mastercard (NYSE:MA) Releases Earnings Results, Beats Expectations By $0.16 EPS

Mastercard (NYSE:MA) issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday. The credit services provider reported $3.89 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.73 by $0.16, Briefing.com reports. The firm had revenue of $7.37 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.27 billion. Mastercard had a net margin of 46.45% and a return on equity of 179.78%. Mastercard’s quarterly revenue was up 12.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm posted $3.39 EPS.

Mastercard Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:MA traded up $8.49 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $508.08. 3,753,713 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,450,197. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $495.77 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $466.84. The company has a quick ratio of 1.14, a current ratio of 1.14 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.95. Mastercard has a 12 month low of $378.48 and a 12 month high of $527.90. The firm has a market capitalization of $469.38 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 38.86, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.27 and a beta of 1.10.

Mastercard Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 8th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, October 9th will be paid a $0.66 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, October 9th. This represents a $2.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.52%. Mastercard’s payout ratio is presently 20.18%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have recently commented on the company. BNP Paribas downgraded Mastercard from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $470.00 price objective on the stock. in a research note on Tuesday, September 3rd. Barclays lifted their target price on Mastercard from $536.00 to $576.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 10th. KeyCorp upped their price objective on shares of Mastercard from $515.00 to $580.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday. Argus raised Mastercard to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 1st. Finally, William Blair upgraded Mastercard to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 31st. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty have assigned a buy rating and three have given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Mastercard presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $537.92.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CMO Venkata R. Madabhushi sold 4,685 shares of Mastercard stock in a transaction on Friday, September 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $489.86, for a total transaction of $2,294,994.10. Following the completion of the sale, the chief marketing officer now directly owns 15,031 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,363,085.66. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. In related news, CMO Venkata R. Madabhushi sold 4,685 shares of Mastercard stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, September 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $489.86, for a total transaction of $2,294,994.10. Following the sale, the chief marketing officer now directly owns 15,031 shares in the company, valued at $7,363,085.66. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CFO J. Mehra Sachin sold 13,439 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $455.00, for a total value of $6,114,745.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 27,304 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $12,423,320. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 340,809 shares of company stock worth $159,610,703 in the last three months. 0.10% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.