Mastercard (NYSE:MA) Receives Outperform Rating from Royal Bank Of Canada

Mastercard (NYSE:MA)‘s stock had its “outperform” rating reaffirmed by investment analysts at Royal Bank Of Canada in a report released on Friday,Benzinga reports. They presently have a $656.00 price target on the credit services provider’s stock. Royal Bank Of Canada’s price target would indicate a potential upside of 21.60% from the company’s previous close.

Other research analysts also recently issued research reports about the company. Redburn Partners set a $685.00 price target on Mastercard in a research note on Wednesday. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Mastercard from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Sunday, December 14th. Hsbc Global Res raised shares of Mastercard from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday, December 8th. Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $678.00 price target (up from $665.00) on shares of Mastercard in a research report on Friday. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on Mastercard from $660.00 to $668.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday. Five analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-one have issued a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $663.74.

Mastercard Price Performance

MA traded down $4.25 during trading on Friday, hitting $539.48. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 1,491,208 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,196,199. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $554.59 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $564.43. The company has a quick ratio of 1.12, a current ratio of 1.12 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.40. The stock has a market capitalization of $484.45 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.49, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.76 and a beta of 0.86. Mastercard has a 12 month low of $465.59 and a 12 month high of $601.77.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 29th. The credit services provider reported $4.76 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.24 by $0.52. Mastercard had a return on equity of 202.03% and a net margin of 45.28%.The business had revenue of $8.81 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $8.80 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $3.82 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 17.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts forecast that Mastercard will post 15.91 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. LGT Financial Advisors LLC bought a new position in Mastercard in the 2nd quarter valued at $25,000. Evolution Wealth Management Inc. bought a new position in shares of Mastercard during the second quarter valued at approximately $29,000. IMG Wealth Management Inc. bought a new position in shares of Mastercard in the 2nd quarter worth $31,000. Robbins Farley raised its stake in shares of Mastercard by 50.0% during the 3rd quarter. Robbins Farley now owns 54 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $31,000 after acquiring an additional 18 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Tacita Capital Inc grew its holdings in Mastercard by 50.0% in the third quarter. Tacita Capital Inc now owns 57 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $32,000 after purchasing an additional 19 shares during the last quarter. 97.28% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Mastercard News Roundup

Here are the key news stories impacting Mastercard this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Q4 beat — Mastercard reported adjusted EPS of $4.76 vs. ~$4.24 expected and revenue of $8.81B (up ~17.5% YoY); growth was driven by GDV, cross?border volume and higher revenue from value?added services. Read More.
• Positive Sentiment: Strategic tailwinds — Management highlighted investments beyond cards (agentic commerce, stablecoins, cybersecurity/value?added services) that could expand addressable market and revenue per transaction over time. Read More.
• Neutral Sentiment: Analyst reaction mixed — Several outlets say the Q4 beat supports the growth story, but valuation is high; some analysts still view MA as buyable while others flag sector risk. Read More.
• Negative Sentiment: Workforce reduction announced — Management completed a review and will cut about 4% of full?time employees, which could boost near?term margins but creates execution/PR risks and uncertainty around cost savings timing. Read More.
• Negative Sentiment: PR/brand risk from marketing stunt — Coverage flags that a recent “reverse ATM” promotional stunt carries hidden operational/brand risks; negative headlines can pressure sentiment even if not material to fundamentals. Read More.
• Negative Sentiment: Sector/valuation headwinds — Broader payments/consumer?spend risk and high multiples are tempering enthusiasm; some investors are taking profits after the run?up. Read More.

About Mastercard

Mastercard Incorporated is a global payments technology company that operates a network connecting consumers, financial institutions, merchants, governments and businesses in more than 200 countries and territories. The company facilitates electronic payments and transaction processing for credit, debit and prepaid card products carrying the Mastercard brand, while also providing a range of payment-related services to issuers, acquirers and merchants. Its technology and network enable authorization, clearing and settlement of payments and support a broad set of use cases including point-of-sale, e-commerce and mobile payments.

Beyond core transaction processing, Mastercard offers a suite of value-added services such as fraud and risk management, identity and authentication tools, tokenization and digital wallet support, cross-border and commercial payment solutions, and data analytics and consulting services for merchants and financial partners.