Morgan Stanley Cuts Mastercard (NYSE:MA) Price Target to $524.00

Mastercard (NYSE:MA) had its price objective cut by Morgan Stanley from $536.00 to $524.00 in a report published on Thursday morning, Benzinga reports. They currently have an overweight rating on the credit services provider’s stock.

MA has been the subject of a number of other research reports. Oppenheimer reiterated an outperform rating and set a $510.00 price objective on shares of Mastercard in a research note on Thursday, February 1st. Robert W. Baird boosted their price target on Mastercard from $525.00 to $545.00 and gave the company an outperform rating in a report on Thursday, April 18th. Susquehanna reaffirmed a positive rating and set a $535.00 price objective on shares of Mastercard in a research note on Wednesday, April 3rd. BMO Capital Markets increased their price target on shares of Mastercard from $480.00 to $490.00 and gave the stock an outperform rating in a report on Thursday, February 1st. Finally, Raymond James lifted their price objective on shares of Mastercard from $452.00 to $504.00 and gave the company an outperform rating in a report on Thursday, February 1st. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-two have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of Moderate Buy and an average price target of $493.55.

Mastercard Stock Performance

Shares of Mastercard stock traded up $2.48 on Thursday, reaching $443.58. 3,711,610 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,507,301. Mastercard has a twelve month low of $357.85 and a twelve month high of $490.00. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $469.57 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $437.74. The company has a quick ratio of 1.17, a current ratio of 1.09 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.86. The firm has a market capitalization of $413.81 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 35.26, a PEG ratio of 1.71 and a beta of 1.08.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 1st. The credit services provider reported $3.31 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.22 by $0.09. The business had revenue of $6.35 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.34 billion. Mastercard had a net margin of 46.09% and a return on equity of 183.70%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 10.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $2.80 EPS. Analysts anticipate that Mastercard will post 14.32 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Mastercard Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 9th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, April 9th will be paid a dividend of $0.66 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, April 8th. This represents a $2.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.60%. Mastercard’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 20.99%.

Insider Transactions at Mastercard

In other Mastercard news, major shareholder Foundation Mastercard sold 116,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $445.04, for a total value of $51,624,640.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 96,651,308 shares in the company, valued at approximately $43,013,698,112.32. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In other Mastercard news, major shareholder Foundation Mastercard sold 116,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $445.04, for a total transaction of $51,624,640.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 96,651,308 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $43,013,698,112.32. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, CMO Venkata R. Madabhushi sold 16,037 shares of Mastercard stock in a transaction on Friday, March 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $475.94, for a total value of $7,632,649.78. Following the transaction, the chief marketing officer now owns 12,255 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,832,644.70. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 583,088 shares of company stock valued at $266,873,978 over the last 90 days. 0.13% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Mastercard

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. McClarren Financial Advisors Inc. raised its position in Mastercard by 37.7% in the first quarter. McClarren Financial Advisors Inc. now owns 482 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $232,000 after purchasing an additional 132 shares during the period. Coulter & Justus Financial Services LLC purchased a new stake in Mastercard in the 1st quarter valued at about $331,000. DAVENPORT & Co LLC lifted its position in Mastercard by 0.4% in the first quarter. DAVENPORT & Co LLC now owns 303,795 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $145,871,000 after buying an additional 1,077 shares during the last quarter. Team Hewins LLC boosted its stake in Mastercard by 0.8% during the first quarter. Team Hewins LLC now owns 7,382 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $3,555,000 after buying an additional 57 shares during the period. Finally, Commonwealth Retirement Investments LLC increased its position in shares of Mastercard by 3.2% during the first quarter. Commonwealth Retirement Investments LLC now owns 2,710 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $1,305,000 after acquiring an additional 85 shares during the last quarter. 97.28% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Mastercard

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.