Mastercard (NYSE:MA) Rating Increased to Buy at Wall Street Zen

Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Mastercard (NYSE:MA) from a hold rating to a buy rating in a research report report published on Saturday.

Other analysts have also issued research reports about the company. Compass Point set a $620.00 price objective on Mastercard and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, October 31st. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Mastercard in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. The Goldman Sachs Group restated a “buy” rating and set a $713.00 price target on shares of Mastercard in a research note on Thursday, October 30th. Citigroup upgraded shares of Mastercard to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Thursday, October 23rd. Finally, Robert W. Baird lifted their target price on shares of Mastercard from $640.00 to $660.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, October 6th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-two have issued a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $652.50.

Mastercard Stock Performance

MA stock opened at $545.48 on Friday. Mastercard has a one year low of $465.59 and a one year high of $601.77. The firm has a market cap of $489.84 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.88, a PEG ratio of 2.14 and a beta of 0.87. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.40, a quick ratio of 1.12 and a current ratio of 1.12. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $556.55 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $567.02.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 30th. The credit services provider reported $4.38 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $4.31 by $0.07. Mastercard had a net margin of 45.28% and a return on equity of 202.03%. The firm had revenue of $8.60 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $8.53 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $3.89 EPS. Mastercard’s revenue was up 16.7% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts forecast that Mastercard will post 15.91 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Mastercard Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 7th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, October 9th were issued a $0.76 dividend. This represents a $3.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.6%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, October 9th. Mastercard’s dividend payout ratio is 19.44%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Saranac Partners Ltd acquired a new stake in Mastercard during the third quarter worth about $8,160,000. IFP Advisors Inc grew its stake in Mastercard by 6.5% in the 3rd quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 17,153 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $9,759,000 after acquiring an additional 1,051 shares during the period. Swiss Life Asset Management Ltd lifted its holdings in Mastercard by 8.2% during the third quarter. Swiss Life Asset Management Ltd now owns 222,928 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $126,804,000 after purchasing an additional 16,844 shares in the last quarter. Stillwater Wealth Management Group acquired a new stake in shares of Mastercard in the third quarter valued at about $248,000. Finally, Groupama Asset Managment increased its stake in shares of Mastercard by 7.7% during the third quarter. Groupama Asset Managment now owns 15,419 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $8,770,000 after purchasing an additional 1,103 shares in the last quarter. 97.28% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.