Mastercard (NYSE:MA) Trading Down 0.5% – Should You Sell?

Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA)’s share price dropped 0.5% during mid-day trading on Thursday . The stock traded as low as $517.80 and last traded at $518.72. Approximately 392,478 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 84% from the average daily volume of 2,443,549 shares. The stock had previously closed at $521.13.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

MA has been the subject of several recent research reports. TD Cowen increased their price objective on shares of Mastercard from $532.00 to $533.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 1st. Compass Point initiated coverage on shares of Mastercard in a report on Wednesday, September 4th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $525.00 price target for the company. William Blair raised shares of Mastercard to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 31st. Morgan Stanley raised their price target on shares of Mastercard from $540.00 to $544.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, November 4th. Finally, BNP Paribas lowered shares of Mastercard from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $470.00 price target for the company. in a report on Tuesday, September 3rd. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty have assigned a buy rating and three have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $540.17.

Mastercard Stock Performance

The stock has a market cap of $481.56 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 39.69, a PEG ratio of 2.28 and a beta of 1.10. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.36, a quick ratio of 1.29 and a current ratio of 1.29. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $499.68 and its 200 day simple moving average is $468.84.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA) last released its earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The credit services provider reported $3.89 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.73 by $0.16. The firm had revenue of $7.37 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $7.27 billion. Mastercard had a net margin of 45.26% and a return on equity of 178.27%. Mastercard’s quarterly revenue was up 12.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $3.39 EPS. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Mastercard Incorporated will post 14.45 earnings per share for the current year.

Mastercard Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 8th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, October 9th were paid a dividend of $0.66 per share. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, October 9th. This represents a $2.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.50%. Mastercard’s payout ratio is 19.97%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Mastercard

In other news, CMO Venkata R. Madabhushi sold 4,685 shares of Mastercard stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, September 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $493.10, for a total value of $2,310,173.50. Following the transaction, the chief marketing officer now owns 17,118 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,440,885.80. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. In other news, CMO Venkata R. Madabhushi sold 4,685 shares of Mastercard stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, September 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $493.10, for a total value of $2,310,173.50. Following the transaction, the chief marketing officer now owns 17,118 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,440,885.80. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, major shareholder Foundation Mastercard sold 109,000 shares of Mastercard stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $467.45, for a total transaction of $50,952,050.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 91,924,308 shares in the company, valued at $42,970,017,774.60. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 327,370 shares of company stock valued at $153,495,958. Company insiders own 0.10% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in MA. Goldstein Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Mastercard by 1.3% in the third quarter. Goldstein Advisors LLC now owns 1,516 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $749,000 after acquiring an additional 20 shares during the last quarter. McLean Asset Management Corp raised its position in shares of Mastercard by 1.3% in the third quarter. McLean Asset Management Corp now owns 1,677 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $834,000 after purchasing an additional 21 shares during the period. Oldfather Financial Services LLC raised its position in shares of Mastercard by 2.6% in the third quarter. Oldfather Financial Services LLC now owns 827 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $408,000 after purchasing an additional 21 shares during the period. Transcendent Capital Group LLC raised its position in shares of Mastercard by 4.8% in the third quarter. Transcendent Capital Group LLC now owns 455 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $225,000 after purchasing an additional 21 shares during the period. Finally, Guerra Pan Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Mastercard by 1.7% in the third quarter. Guerra Pan Advisors LLC now owns 1,225 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $605,000 after purchasing an additional 21 shares during the period. 97.28% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.