Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) Stock Has Consensus Price Target of $682.66

Shares of Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) have received a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the thirty-four research firms that are covering the company, Marketbeat reports. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has assigned a hold rating, thirty have assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. The average 1-year price target among analysts that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $682.66.

MA has been the subject of several research analyst reports. UBS Group upped their price target on Mastercard from $640.00 to $670.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, July 31st. TD Cowen lifted their price objective on Mastercard from $664.00 to $667.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, July 31st. Weiss Ratings upgraded Mastercard from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a report on Friday, October 2nd. Barclays boosted their target price on Mastercard from $640.00 to $660.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, July 31st. Finally, Piper Sandler increased their target price on shares of Mastercard from $597.00 to $710.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, July 31st.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Sachin Mehra sold 7,444 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $577.13, for a total value of $4,296,155.72. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 40,916 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $23,613,851.08. This represents a 15.39% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, insider Linda Kirkpatrick sold 4,280 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $570.31, for a total transaction of $2,440,926.80. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 31,179 shares in the company, valued at approximately $17,781,695.49. This represents a 12.07% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders sold a total of 72,676 shares of company stock valued at $41,966,586 over the last quarter. 0.09% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Mastercard

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Foster Group Inc. grew its stake in Mastercard by 0.9% in the 3rd quarter. Foster Group Inc. now owns 2,122 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $1,170,000 after acquiring an additional 18 shares during the last quarter. Athena Wealth Management LLC increased its holdings in Mastercard by 3.8% during the 2nd quarter. Athena Wealth Management LLC now owns 514 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $264,000 after acquiring an additional 19 shares in the last quarter. Novem Group increased its holdings in Mastercard by 0.4% during the 2nd quarter. Novem Group now owns 4,680 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $2,404,000 after acquiring an additional 19 shares in the last quarter. Vista Capital Partners Inc. raised its position in Mastercard by 4.5% during the second quarter. Vista Capital Partners Inc. now owns 444 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $228,000 after acquiring an additional 19 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Brandywine Oak Private Wealth LLC raised its position in Mastercard by 0.7% during the first quarter. Brandywine Oak Private Wealth LLC now owns 2,842 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $1,420,000 after acquiring an additional 20 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 97.28% of the company’s stock.

Mastercard Trading Down 0.1%

Shares of MA opened at $616.65 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 1.06, a quick ratio of 1.06 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.96. The firm has a market capitalization of $540.20 billion, a P/E ratio of 32.88, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.76 and a beta of 0.76. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $577.08 and its 200 day simple moving average is $536.11. Mastercard has a twelve month low of $464.52 and a twelve month high of $622.49.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, July 30th. The credit services provider reported $5.04 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.77 by $0.27. Mastercard had a return on equity of 239.99% and a net margin of 46.34%. The firm had revenue of $9.28 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $9.08 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $4.15 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 14.1% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Mastercard will post 19.91 earnings per share for the current year.

Mastercard Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, November 9th. Shareholders of record on Friday, October 9th will be given a dividend of $0.87 per share. This represents a $3.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.6%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, October 9th. Mastercard’s payout ratio is 19.14%.

Mastercard News Roundup

Here are the key news stories impacting Mastercard this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Mastercard introduced a Stablecoin Security tool that combines payment and blockchain intelligence to identify fraud, scams and sanctions exposure before stablecoin transactions are completed. The product could support adoption of blockchain-based payments while creating additional risk-management revenue opportunities. Mastercard introduces risk intelligence to enable more secure stablecoin payments
• Positive Sentiment: The company is expanding its crypto team and integrating stablecoin cards and payment capabilities across roughly 130 countries, reinforcing Mastercard’s position as traditional networks connect digital assets with fiat commerce. Stablecoin payments were reported to have grown 45% to $482 billion. Mastercard expands crypto team as stablecoins take center stage
• Positive Sentiment: Mastercard launched an AI-powered Agent Detection Score to estimate whether a transaction was initiated by software rather than a person. The tool may help the network manage fraud and trust risks as autonomous shopping agents become more common. Mastercard unveiled an AI Agent Detection Score
• Positive Sentiment: Partnerships with Extend, Moovn, BankIslami and Powertranz are broadening Mastercard’s business-software, African, Pakistani and restaurant-payment offerings, potentially supporting long-term transaction-volume growth.
• Neutral Sentiment: U.S. officials are pressing China on independent market access for Mastercard’s network. Greater access would be a significant growth opportunity, but the outcome and timing remain uncertain. U.S. officials press China on market access
• Negative Sentiment: CFO Ling Hai sold 4,317 shares worth approximately $2.7 million under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 plan. The sale is a modest negative sentiment signal, although scheduled insider selling does not necessarily indicate a change in business outlook.
• Negative Sentiment: With Mastercard trading near its 52-week high at a valuation of roughly 33 times earnings, expectations are elevated. Investors may demand continued strong growth beyond the most recent quarter’s 14.1% revenue increase and earnings beat.

Mastercard Company Profile

Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE: MA) is a global payments technology company that operates a network connecting consumers, financial institutions, merchants, governments and businesses. The company facilitates electronic payments and provides technology that supports transactions conducted through credit, debit, prepaid and commercial payment products.

In addition to operating its payments network, Mastercard offers services in areas such as payment security, fraud prevention, authentication, cybersecurity, data and analytics, loyalty programs, digital identity and open banking.