Brokerages Set Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) Price Target at $567.29

Shares of Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) have been given a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by the twenty-nine analysts that are currently covering the stock, MarketBeat.com reports. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-four have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. The average 12-month price target among brokerages that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $603.08.

Several research firms have recently weighed in on MA. TD Cowen boosted their target price on Mastercard from $533.00 to $567.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, November 15th. UBS Group boosted their price objective on shares of Mastercard from $600.00 to $660.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Jefferies Financial Group raised their target price on shares of Mastercard from $590.00 to $610.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, December 9th. Citigroup increased their price objective on shares of Mastercard from $584.00 to $650.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Robert W. Baird boosted their target price on Mastercard from $545.00 to $575.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 16th.

Mastercard Price Performance

Mastercard stock opened at $566.05 on Thursday. Mastercard has a 52-week low of $428.86 and a 52-week high of $576.94. The company has a quick ratio of 1.29, a current ratio of 1.03 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.68. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $529.65 and its 200 day moving average is $503.41. The company has a market cap of $519.53 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 40.75, a PEG ratio of 2.23 and a beta of 1.10.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The credit services provider reported $3.82 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.71 by $0.11. Mastercard had a net margin of 45.71% and a return on equity of 188.47%. Sell-side analysts forecast that Mastercard will post 16.04 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Mastercard announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a share repurchase plan on Tuesday, December 17th that authorizes the company to buyback $12.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the credit services provider to buy up to 2.5% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are usually an indication that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

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 issued a $0.76 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, January 10th. This is an increase from Mastercard’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.66. This represents a $3.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.54%. Mastercard’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 21.89%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Mastercard

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in MA. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC lifted its position in Mastercard by 9.7% during the second quarter. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC now owns 386 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $168,000 after acquiring an additional 34 shares during the last quarter. Advisory Alpha LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Mastercard by 33.0% during the 2nd quarter. Advisory Alpha LLC now owns 1,323 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $584,000 after purchasing an additional 328 shares during the last quarter. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL acquired a new stake in shares of Mastercard in the 2nd quarter worth $34,000. Brown Financial Advisors purchased a new position in Mastercard during the 2nd quarter worth $673,000. Finally, Sanctuary Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Mastercard in the second quarter valued at about $39,525,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 97.28% of the company’s stock.

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.