Mastercard (NYSE:MA) PT Raised to $545.00 at Robert W. Baird

Mastercard (NYSE:MA) had its target price boosted by Robert W. Baird from $525.00 to $545.00 in a report published on Thursday morning, Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has an outperform rating on the credit services provider’s stock.

Other equities analysts have also issued reports about the stock. BMO Capital Markets increased their price objective on shares of Mastercard from $480.00 to $490.00 and gave the company an outperform rating in a research report on Thursday, February 1st. TD Cowen began coverage on shares of Mastercard in a research note on Thursday, April 11th. They set a buy rating and a $545.00 target price for the company. Royal Bank of Canada raised their target price on shares of Mastercard from $432.00 to $499.00 and gave the stock an outperform rating in a research note on Thursday, February 1st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on shares of Mastercard from $504.00 to $520.00 and gave the stock an overweight rating in a research note on Monday, April 15th. Finally, Susquehanna restated a positive rating and set a $535.00 target price on shares of Mastercard in a research note on Wednesday, April 3rd. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-two have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of Moderate Buy and an average target price of $490.23.

Mastercard Stock Performance

NYSE MA opened at $455.39 on Thursday. The company has a current ratio of 1.17, a quick ratio of 1.17 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.06. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $471.70 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $434.07. Mastercard has a 1 year low of $357.85 and a 1 year high of $490.00. The firm has a market capitalization of $424.83 billion, a P/E ratio of 38.49, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.73 and a beta of 1.08.

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

Mastercard Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 9th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, April 9th will be issued a $0.66 dividend. This represents a $2.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.58%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, April 8th. Mastercard’s dividend payout ratio is currently 22.32%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Mastercard

In other Mastercard news, major shareholder Foundation Mastercard sold 200 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $487.25, for a total value of $97,450.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 97,543,308 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $47,527,976,823. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. In related news, major shareholder Foundation Mastercard sold 200 shares of Mastercard stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $487.25, for a total transaction of $97,450.00. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 97,543,308 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $47,527,976,823. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Ajay Bhalla sold 98 shares of Mastercard stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, January 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $439.52, for a total transaction of $43,072.96. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 6,235 shares in the company, valued at $2,740,407.20. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 148,728 shares of company stock valued at $68,483,403 in the last ninety days. 0.13% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Mastercard

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Activest Wealth Management grew its holdings in shares of Mastercard by 87.4% during the 4th quarter. Activest Wealth Management now owns 536 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $229,000 after purchasing an additional 250 shares during the last quarter. Everett Harris & Co. CA grew its holdings in Mastercard by 0.5% during the 4th quarter. Everett Harris & Co. CA now owns 49,539 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $21,129,000 after acquiring an additional 252 shares during the last quarter. Atlantic Union Bankshares Corp grew its holdings in Mastercard by 23.9% during the 4th quarter. Atlantic Union Bankshares Corp now owns 12,124 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $5,171,000 after acquiring an additional 2,337 shares during the last quarter. Fortune Financial Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Mastercard by 4.5% during the 4th quarter. Fortune Financial Advisors LLC now owns 7,853 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $3,350,000 after acquiring an additional 339 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Foster Victor Wealth Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Mastercard by 1.5% during the 4th quarter. Foster Victor Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 42,752 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $18,041,000 after acquiring an additional 612 shares during the last quarter. 97.28% of the stock is owned by 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.