Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) Given Consensus Recommendation of “Buy” by Analysts

Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) has been given an average rating of “Buy” by the thirty-one analysts that are covering the firm, Marketbeat reports. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, one has assigned a hold recommendation, twenty-four have assigned a buy recommendation and five have issued a strong buy recommendation on the company. The average 12-month price objective among brokerages that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $661.9259.

MA has been the subject of several research reports. TD Cowen increased their price target on shares of Mastercard from $664.00 to $667.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, July 31st. Barclays boosted their price objective on shares of Mastercard from $640.00 to $660.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, July 31st. Susquehanna cut their price objective on shares of Mastercard from $670.00 to $665.00 and set a “positive” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, May 1st. Royal Bank Of Canada raised their target price on shares of Mastercard from $629.00 to $642.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, July 31st. Finally, Truist Financial lifted their target price on shares of Mastercard from $554.00 to $633.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday.

Mastercard Trading Down 2.4%

NYSE MA opened at $562.20 on Monday. The firm has a market capitalization of $496.75 billion, a PE ratio of 30.92, a P/E/G ratio of 1.73 and a beta of 0.72. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $522.37 and its 200 day moving average is $515.41. Mastercard has a twelve month low of $464.52 and a twelve month high of $601.77. The company has a quick ratio of 1.06, a current ratio of 1.06 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.96.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 30th. The credit services provider reported $5.04 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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 business had revenue of $9.28 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $9.08 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $4.15 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 14.1% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts forecast that Mastercard will post 19.81 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Mastercard Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 7th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, July 9th were paid a dividend of $0.87 per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, July 9th. This represents a $3.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.6%. Mastercard’s payout ratio is presently 19.14%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, insider Linda Pistecchia Kirkpatrick sold 4,280 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the insider owned 31,179 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $17,781,695.49. This trade represents a 12.07% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, insider J. Mehra Sachin sold 3,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $571.87, for a total value of $1,715,610.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 40,916 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $23,398,632.92. This represents a 6.83% 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. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 62,913 shares of company stock valued at $35,769,036. Company insiders own 0.09% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Mastercard

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. J. Stern & Co. LLP raised its holdings in shares of Mastercard by 53,535.0% during the fourth quarter. J. Stern & Co. LLP now owns 72,597,097 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $41,444,231,000 after purchasing an additional 72,461,743 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in Mastercard in the fourth quarter worth approximately $6,705,708,000. Cardano Risk Management B.V. grew its position in Mastercard by 861.6% in the 4th quarter. Cardano Risk Management B.V. now owns 4,072,210 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $2,324,743,000 after purchasing an additional 3,648,748 shares during the period. State Street Corp grew its position in Mastercard by 2.8% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 36,580,374 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $20,807,283,000 after purchasing an additional 997,536 shares during the period. Finally, Cibc World Markets Corp purchased a new stake in Mastercard during the 4th quarter valued at $497,311,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 97.28% of the company’s stock.

Key Stories Impacting Mastercard

Here are the key news stories impacting Mastercard this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Stablecoin initiatives create new growth opportunities: Mastercard is partnering with Borderless.xyz to test trusted cross-border stablecoin payment flows using Mastercard Crypto Credential. It is also a founding validator for Circle’s Arc blockchain, which is scheduled to launch on September 16. These efforts could produce future transaction-processing, compliance and infrastructure revenue. Mastercard and Borderless.xyz stablecoin partnership
• Positive Sentiment: Fiserv partnership expands Mastercard’s merchant reach: Connecting Mastercard Merchant Cloud with Fiserv Commerce Hub will give enterprise merchants broader access to payment services across online, mobile and in-store channels, potentially supporting transaction growth and value-added-services revenue. Mastercard expands merchant reach through Fiserv
• Positive Sentiment: Analysts remain bullish: Wall Street maintains a favorable view of MA, with recent target increases including Cantor Fitzgerald’s $695 target. The optimism follows Mastercard’s latest earnings beat: quarterly EPS was $5.04 versus $4.77 expected, while revenue rose 14.1% year over year to $9.28 billion. Wall Street outlook for Mastercard
• Neutral Sentiment: Mastercard’s corporate-card launches in the UAE and Egypt and expanded premium travel benefits in Asia may increase regional usage, although the immediate earnings contribution is likely limited. Mastercard regional card expansion
• Negative Sentiment: Several insiders sold shares: CEO Michael Miebach sold 15,372 shares for about $8.8 million, while J. Mehra Sachin sold 3,000 shares and Linda Pistecchia Kirkpatrick sold 4,280 shares. All trades were made under pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 plans, which reduces their predictive value, but the cluster of sales can still pressure investor sentiment. Mastercard insider sale filings
• Negative Sentiment: Valuation and industry risks remain: With MA trading at roughly 31 times earnings, investors may be sensitive to slowing consumer spending, rising technology costs and regulatory scrutiny of payments and stablecoins.

Mastercard Company Profile

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.