Mastercard (NYSE:MA) Trading 1.3% Higher – Here’s What Happened

Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA)’s stock price rose 1.3% on Wednesday . The stock traded as high as $535.74 and last traded at $535.71. Approximately 955,015 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 62% from the average daily volume of 2,480,653 shares. The stock had previously closed at $528.96.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts recently commented on MA shares. BNP Paribas downgraded shares of Mastercard from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $470.00 target price on the stock. in a research report on Tuesday, September 3rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their target price on Mastercard from $593.00 to $580.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, November 1st. Citigroup boosted their price objective on Mastercard from $566.00 to $572.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, November 4th. Mizuho upped their price target on shares of Mastercard from $496.00 to $532.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, November 1st. Finally, 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 report on Friday, November 15th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-three have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Mastercard presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $562.76.

Mastercard Price Performance

The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $521.13 and a 200 day simple moving average of $485.73. The company has a quick ratio of 1.29, a current ratio of 1.29 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.36. The company has a market capitalization of $491.69 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 40.52, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.36 and a beta of 1.10.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA) last released its quarterly earnings data 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 company had revenue of $7.37 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.27 billion. Mastercard had a return on equity of 178.27% and a net margin of 45.26%. The firm’s revenue was up 12.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company posted $3.39 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts predict that Mastercard Incorporated will post 14.47 EPS for the current year.

Mastercard Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 7th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, January 9th will be given a dividend of $0.76 per share. This is a boost from Mastercard’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.66. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, January 9th. This represents a $3.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.57%. Mastercard’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 23.00%.

Mastercard announced that its board has authorized a stock repurchase plan on Tuesday, December 17th that allows the company to buyback $12.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization allows the credit services provider to reacquire up to 2.5% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are typically an indication that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Mastercard

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of MA. Garden State Investment Advisory Services LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Mastercard by 5.0% in the 3rd quarter. Garden State Investment Advisory Services LLC now owns 655 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $324,000 after purchasing an additional 31 shares during the last quarter. American Trust boosted its holdings in shares of Mastercard by 13.8% during the third quarter. American Trust now owns 11,157 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $5,509,000 after acquiring an additional 1,352 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc. grew its position in shares of Mastercard by 4.2% during the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 7,501,814 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $3,800,836,000 after acquiring an additional 304,293 shares during the last quarter. Synovus Financial Corp boosted its stake in Mastercard by 13.2% during the 3rd quarter. Synovus Financial Corp now owns 41,645 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $20,563,000 after purchasing an additional 4,843 shares during the period. Finally, Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB grew its holdings in Mastercard by 30.3% in the 3rd quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB now owns 75,960 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $37,509,000 after buying an additional 17,648 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 97.28% of the company’s stock.

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.