Mastercard (NYSE:MA) Sets New 12-Month High – Should You Buy?

Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) shares reached a new 52-week high during trading on Wednesday . The stock traded as high as $535.89 and last traded at $535.19, with a volume of 932508 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $529.01.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have weighed in on MA shares. Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on Mastercard from $544.00 to $564.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 14th. Macquarie lifted their price objective on shares of Mastercard from $505.00 to $565.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, November 1st. KeyCorp increased their target price on shares of Mastercard from $515.00 to $580.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, November 1st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price target on shares of Mastercard from $593.00 to $580.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, November 1st. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $572.00 price objective on shares of Mastercard in a report on Thursday, November 14th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-three have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $559.28.

Mastercard Price Performance

The company has a market capitalization of $485.53 billion, a P/E ratio of 40.02, a P/E/G ratio of 2.38 and a beta of 1.10. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $516.61 and its 200 day simple moving average is $480.61. The company has a quick ratio of 1.29, a current ratio of 1.29 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.36.

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

Mastercard Announces Dividend

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

Insider Activity

In other news, CMO Venkata R. Madabhushi sold 4,685 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the chief marketing officer now directly owns 15,031 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,363,085.66. This represents a 23.76 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.10% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Mastercard

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Highline Wealth Partners LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Mastercard during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $25,000. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL bought a new position in Mastercard in the second quarter worth $34,000. Fairway Wealth LLC bought a new position in Mastercard in the second quarter worth $35,000. First Personal Financial Services acquired a new stake in Mastercard during the third quarter worth $39,000. Finally, Lowe Wealth Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Mastercard by 74.0% in the 3rd 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 during the period. 97.28% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.