Mastercard (NYSE:MA) Price Target Raised to $610.00 at JPMorgan Chase & Co.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA) had its target price upped by JPMorgan Chase & Co. from $590.00 to $610.00 in a research note issued to investors on Friday morning,Benzinga reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. currently has an overweight rating on the credit services provider’s stock.

A number of other brokerages also recently issued reports on MA. UBS Group lifted their price target on Mastercard from $590.00 to $610.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 14th. TD Cowen lifted their price objective on shares of Mastercard from $533.00 to $567.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, November 15th. Citigroup boosted their target price on Mastercard from $572.00 to $584.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 14th. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price target on shares of Mastercard from $590.00 to $610.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, December 9th. Finally, Macquarie upped 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. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-three have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Mastercard presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $595.64.

Mastercard Trading Down 1.8 %

NYSE:MA opened at $555.63 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $509.97 billion, a P/E ratio of 42.03, a P/E/G ratio of 2.17 and a beta of 1.10. Mastercard has a 1 year low of $428.86 and a 1 year high of $576.94. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.36, a current ratio of 1.29 and a quick ratio of 1.29. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $528.28 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $501.03.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The credit services provider reported $3.82 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.71 by $0.11. Mastercard had a return on equity of 178.27% and a net margin of 45.26%. As a group, analysts expect that Mastercard will post 14.47 EPS for the current year.

Mastercard announced that its board has approved a share repurchase program on Tuesday, December 17th that authorizes the company to repurchase $12.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the credit services provider to repurchase up to 2.5% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are usually an indication that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

Mastercard Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 7th. Investors of record on Thursday, January 9th will be given a dividend of $0.76 per share. This represents a $3.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.55%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, January 10th. This is a positive change from Mastercard’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.66. Mastercard’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 23.00%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Mastercard

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Highline Wealth Partners LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Mastercard during the third quarter valued at approximately $25,000. First Personal Financial Services bought a new position in Mastercard in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $39,000. FSA Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in Mastercard during the 3rd quarter valued at $54,000. Raelipskie Partnership raised its stake in shares of Mastercard by 120.0% in the third quarter. Raelipskie Partnership now owns 110 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $54,000 after purchasing an additional 60 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Legacy Investment Solutions LLC bought a new position in shares of Mastercard during the third quarter valued at $55,000. 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.