Evercore ISI Boosts Mastercard (NYSE:MA) Price Target to $545.00

Mastercard (NYSE:MA) had its price target raised by Evercore ISI from $530.00 to $545.00 in a research note published on Tuesday, Benzinga reports. Evercore ISI currently has an outperform rating on the credit services provider’s stock.

A number of other research firms have also recently weighed in on MA. Mizuho lifted their price objective on shares of Mastercard from $462.00 to $480.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a report on Thursday, February 1st. BMO Capital Markets lifted their price objective on shares of Mastercard from $480.00 to $490.00 and gave the company an outperform rating in a report on Thursday, February 1st. Oppenheimer reaffirmed an outperform rating and issued a $510.00 price objective on shares of Mastercard in a report on Thursday, February 1st. Raymond James boosted their target price on shares of Mastercard from $452.00 to $504.00 and gave the stock an outperform rating in a research note on Thursday, February 1st. Finally, Monness Crespi & Hardt initiated coverage on shares of Mastercard in a research note on Wednesday, December 20th. They set a neutral rating for the company. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-one have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Mastercard currently has an average rating of Moderate Buy and an average price target of $479.62.

Mastercard Price Performance

NYSE MA opened at $481.57 on Tuesday. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $464.17 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $426.46. The company has a current ratio of 1.17, a quick ratio of 1.17 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.06. Mastercard has a 12-month low of $355.82 and a 12-month high of $490.00. The firm has a market capitalization of $449.25 billion, a P/E ratio of 40.71, a P/E/G ratio of 1.81 and a beta of 1.08.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 31st. The credit services provider reported $3.18 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.08 by $0.10. The business had revenue of $6.55 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.46 billion. Mastercard had a net margin of 44.60% and a return on equity of 191.22%. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $2.65 earnings per share. Analysts forecast that Mastercard will post 14.35 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Mastercard declared that its Board of Directors has approved a stock repurchase program on Tuesday, December 5th that authorizes the company to repurchase $11.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the credit services provider to repurchase up to 2.9% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are often an indication that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

Mastercard Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 9th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, April 9th will be issued a $0.66 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, April 8th. This represents a $2.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.55%. Mastercard’s dividend payout ratio is currently 22.32%.

Insider Transactions at Mastercard

In other Mastercard news, CEO Michael Miebach sold 7,851 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $475.92, for a total transaction of $3,736,447.92. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 47,640 shares in the company, valued at approximately $22,672,828.80. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link. In related news, insider Craig Vosburg sold 8,900 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, January 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $430.26, for a total value of $3,829,314.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 46,491 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $20,003,217.66. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, CEO Michael Miebach sold 7,851 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, March 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $475.92, for a total transaction of $3,736,447.92. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 47,640 shares in the company, valued at $22,672,828.80. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 50,628 shares of company stock worth $23,309,067. 0.13% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in Mastercard during the 4th quarter worth $4,595,559,000. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Mastercard by 111,819.8% in the 4th quarter. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC now owns 5,983,231 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $2,080,549,000 after acquiring an additional 5,977,885 shares during the period. International Assets Investment Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Mastercard by 43,445.1% in the 4th quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 2,936,684 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $1,252,525,000 after acquiring an additional 2,929,940 shares during the period. Morgan Stanley lifted its stake in shares of Mastercard by 17.7% in the fourth quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 15,843,692 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $5,509,328,000 after purchasing an additional 2,385,640 shares during the period. Finally, Barclays PLC lifted its stake in shares of Mastercard by 145.7% in the second quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 2,960,242 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $1,164,263,000 after purchasing an additional 1,755,483 shares during the period. 97.28% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.