Mastercard (NYSE:MA) Stock Price Expected to Rise, Sanford C. Bernstein Analyst Says

Mastercard (NYSE:MA) had its target price upped by analysts at Sanford C. Bernstein from $730.00 to $764.00 in a report issued on Wednesday, Benzinga reports. The firm currently has an “outperform” rating on the credit services provider’s stock. Sanford C. Bernstein‘s price objective would indicate a potential upside of 16.59% from the company’s current price.

Other equities research analysts also recently issued research reports about the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on Mastercard from $720.00 to $755.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, October 30th. Piper Sandler upped their price objective on shares of Mastercard from $597.00 to $710.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, July 31st. Mizuho set a $711.00 price objective on shares of Mastercard in a research report on Friday, October 30th. Wolfe Research increased their price objective on shares of Mastercard from $680.00 to $740.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 25th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on shares of Mastercard from $668.00 to $731.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, October 30th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty have issued a Buy rating, two have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $711.09.

Mastercard Stock Down 0.5%

NYSE:MA traded down $3.56 during midday trading on Wednesday, reaching $655.28. 1,019,538 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 3,501,229. Mastercard has a 12-month low of $464.52 and a 12-month high of $681.99. The business has a 50-day moving average of $595.74 and a two-hundred day moving average of $540.39. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.29, a quick ratio of 1.01 and a current ratio of 1.01. The stock has a market capitalization of $570.87 billion, a PE ratio of 34.22, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.85 and a beta of 0.78.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 29th. The credit services provider reported $5.31 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.17 by $0.14. Mastercard had a return on equity of 260.86% and a net margin of 46.73%. The business had revenue of $9.81 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $9.66 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $4.38 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 14.0% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts forecast that Mastercard will post 20.00 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Mastercard

In other news, insider Sachin Mehra sold 7,444 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $577.13, for a total value of $4,296,155.72. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 40,916 shares in the company, valued at $23,613,851.08. This trade represents a 15.39% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CFO Ling Hai sold 4,318 shares of Mastercard stock in a transaction dated Friday, October 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $642.43, for a total value of $2,774,012.74. Following the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 35,750 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $22,966,872.50. This trade represents a 10.78% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders sold a total of 25,403 shares of company stock worth $15,428,736 over the last three months. 0.09% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Mastercard

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Atlatl Advisers LLC boosted its holdings in Mastercard by 2.8% in the third quarter. Atlatl Advisers LLC now owns 586 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $323,000 after purchasing an additional 16 shares during the last quarter. Trustmark Bank Trust Department boosted its stake in shares of Mastercard by 0.9% in the third quarter. Trustmark Bank Trust Department now owns 1,744 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $962,000 after buying an additional 16 shares during the last quarter. Foster Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of Mastercard by 0.9% during the 3rd quarter. Foster Group Inc. now owns 2,122 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $1,170,000 after purchasing an additional 18 shares during the period. Shakespeare Wealth Management LLC increased its holdings in Mastercard by 3.8% in the third quarter. Shakespeare Wealth Management LLC now owns 492 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $271,000 after buying an additional 18 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bell Investment Advisors Inc increased its stake in shares of Mastercard by 3.6% in the 3rd quarter. Bell Investment Advisors Inc now owns 513 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $283,000 after purchasing an additional 18 shares in the last quarter. 97.28% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Key Mastercard News

These are some of the MA news items that stood out recently:

• Positive Sentiment: Citigroup raised its price target to $800 from $675 and reiterated a “buy” rating. Separately, brokerages’ average target was reported at $709.45, indicating favorable analyst expectations. Citigroup rating coverage Brokerage average price target
• Neutral Sentiment: A comparison of Mastercard and Interactive Brokers described Mastercard’s advantages as its global payments network and high net margins, but did not provide a new company-specific catalyst. Stock comparison
• Negative Sentiment: CEO Michael Miebach identified cybersecurity as a major concern, underscoring the ongoing challenge and potential costs of protecting financial infrastructure from increasingly difficult threats. CEO comments on cybersecurity

Mastercard Company Profile

Mastercard Incorporated is a global payments technology company that operates a network connecting consumers, merchants, financial institutions, businesses and governments. Its network supports electronic payments, including transactions made with Mastercard-branded credit, debit and prepaid cards, as well as digital payment methods. The company provides technology for authorizing, clearing and settling transactions. It also offers services related to cybersecurity, identity verification, data analytics, fraud prevention and payment consulting.