Mastercard (NYSE:MA) Reaches New 52-Week High – Should You Buy?

Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) shares reached a new 52-week high on Monday . The stock traded as high as $532.68 and last traded at $531.13, with a volume of 63343 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $524.76.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Macquarie boosted their price objective on shares of Mastercard from $505.00 to $565.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Argus raised Mastercard to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 1st. Mizuho boosted their price objective on Mastercard from $496.00 to $532.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, November 1st. BMO Capital Markets reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $520.00 target price on shares of Mastercard in a report on Wednesday, August 14th. Finally, Citigroup upped their price target on Mastercard from $566.00 to $572.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, November 4th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty have issued a buy rating and three have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $540.17.

Mastercard Stock Performance

The stock has a 50-day moving average of $500.61 and a 200 day moving average of $469.41. The firm has a market capitalization of $485.69 billion, a P/E ratio of 40.03, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.32 and a beta of 1.10. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.36, a quick ratio of 1.29 and a current ratio of 1.29.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA) last announced its 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 company had revenue of $7.37 billion during 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 quarterly 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. On average, research analysts anticipate that Mastercard Incorporated will post 14.45 earnings per share for the current year.

Mastercard Dividend Announcement

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

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, major shareholder Foundation Mastercard sold 109,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $467.45, for a total value of $50,952,050.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 91,924,308 shares in the company, valued at $42,970,017,774.60. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In other Mastercard news, CMO Venkata R. Madabhushi sold 4,685 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, September 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $489.86, for a total transaction of $2,294,994.10. Following the completion of the sale, the chief marketing officer now owns 15,031 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,363,085.66. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, major shareholder Foundation Mastercard sold 109,000 shares of Mastercard stock in a transaction on Monday, August 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $467.45, for a total value of $50,952,050.00. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 91,924,308 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $42,970,017,774.60. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 327,370 shares of company stock worth $153,495,958 in the last quarter. Insiders own 0.10% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Mastercard

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Fisher Asset Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Mastercard by 2.5% during the third quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 4,117,490 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $2,033,217,000 after purchasing an additional 99,145 shares in the last quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. lifted its holdings in Mastercard by 19.7% during the third quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. now owns 122,274 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $60,379,000 after acquiring an additional 20,160 shares in the last quarter. Hartford Funds Management Co LLC grew its stake in Mastercard by 3.4% in the third quarter. Hartford Funds Management Co LLC now owns 2,136 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $1,055,000 after acquiring an additional 70 shares during the period. Summit Trail Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Mastercard by 9.3% in the third quarter. Summit Trail Advisors LLC now owns 16,338 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $8,068,000 after acquiring an additional 1,389 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Cahill Financial Advisors Inc. raised its position in shares of Mastercard by 4.9% during the third quarter. Cahill Financial Advisors Inc. now owns 3,230 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $1,595,000 after purchasing an additional 152 shares during the period. 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.