Mastercard (NYSE:MA) Shares Down 0.4% – Here’s Why

Shares of Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) traded down 0.4% during mid-day trading on Monday . The company traded as low as $517.00 and last traded at $519.69. 343,993 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 86% from the average session volume of 2,442,681 shares. The stock had previously closed at $521.89.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have recently issued reports on MA. Barclays increased their price target on Mastercard from $536.00 to $576.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 10th. Piper Sandler restated an “overweight” rating and set a $575.00 price objective (up previously from $565.00) on shares of Mastercard in a research report on Friday. TD Cowen raised their price objective on shares of Mastercard from $533.00 to $567.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday. Citigroup raised their target price on Mastercard from $566.00 to $572.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, November 4th. Finally, William Blair upgraded shares of Mastercard to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 31st. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-one have issued a buy rating and three have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $549.16.

Mastercard Stock Performance

The firm has a market cap of $478.38 billion, a P/E ratio of 39.31, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.28 and a beta of 1.10. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $504.09 and its 200 day moving average price is $471.38. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.36, a current ratio of 1.29 and a quick ratio of 1.29.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The credit services provider reported $3.89 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.73 by $0.16. The firm had revenue of $7.37 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.27 billion. Mastercard had a return on equity of 178.27% and a net margin of 45.26%. The business’s revenue was up 12.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company earned $3.39 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts predict that Mastercard Incorporated will post 14.47 EPS for the current year.

Mastercard Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 8th. Investors of record on Wednesday, October 9th were paid a $0.66 dividend. This represents a $2.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.51%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, October 9th. Mastercard’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 19.97%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CMO Venkata R. Madabhushi sold 4,685 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, September 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $489.86, for a total value of $2,294,994.10. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief marketing officer now directly owns 15,031 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,363,085.66. This represents a 23.76 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, major shareholder Foundation Mastercard sold 90,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $468.80, for a total value of $42,192,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 91,649,308 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $42,965,195,590.40. The trade was a 0.10 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 99,370 shares of company stock worth $46,797,168 over the last three months. Insiders own 0.10% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Mastercard

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Highline Wealth Partners LLC acquired a new stake in Mastercard in the third quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL acquired a new stake in Mastercard in the 2nd quarter valued at $34,000. First Personal Financial Services bought a new stake in Mastercard during the 3rd quarter valued at $39,000. Fairway Wealth LLC acquired a new position in Mastercard during the second quarter worth $35,000. Finally, Lowe Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Mastercard by 74.0% in the third quarter. Lowe Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 87 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $43,000 after buying an additional 37 shares in the last quarter. 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.