Royal Bank Of Canada Reiterates “Outperform” Rating for Mastercard (NYSE:MA)

Royal Bank Of Canada reaffirmed their outperform rating on shares of Mastercard (NYSE:MA) in a report published on Tuesday morning,Benzinga reports. Royal Bank Of Canada currently has a $650.00 price objective on the credit services provider’s stock.

Several other research analysts have also recently weighed in on MA. Citigroup lifted their price target on shares of Mastercard from $650.00 to $652.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, May 5th. Monness Crespi & Hardt cut shares of Mastercard from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 9th. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Mastercard from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, June 14th. Evercore ISI initiated coverage on shares of Mastercard in a research note on Wednesday, April 9th. They set an “in-line” rating and a $550.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Seaport Res Ptn upgraded shares of Mastercard from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-four have issued a buy rating and three have assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Mastercard has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $611.50.

Mastercard Trading Down 0.5%

Shares of Mastercard stock opened at $550.33 on Tuesday. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $568.07 and its 200-day simple moving average is $548.00. The stock has a market capitalization of $501.74 billion, a PE ratio of 38.59, a P/E/G ratio of 2.40 and a beta of 1.02. Mastercard has a 1-year low of $428.86 and a 1-year high of $594.71. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.81, a current ratio of 1.11 and a quick ratio of 1.11.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 1st. The credit services provider reported $3.73 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.57 by $0.16. The business had revenue of $7.25 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $7.12 billion. Mastercard had a net margin of 45.21% and a return on equity of 196.87%. The company’s revenue was up 14.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $3.31 EPS. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Mastercard will post 15.91 earnings per share for the current year.

Mastercard Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 8th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, July 9th will be issued a $0.76 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, July 9th. This represents a $3.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.55%. Mastercard’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 21.32%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Mastercard

In related news, insider Craig Vosburg sold 9,428 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, June 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $353.05, for a total transaction of $3,328,555.40. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 58,451 shares in the company, valued at approximately $20,636,125.55. This represents a 13.89% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider Raj Seshadri sold 1,100 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, June 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $546.77, for a total transaction of $601,447.00. Following the transaction, the insider owned 12,921 shares in the company, valued at $7,064,815.17. The trade was a 7.85% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 38,753 shares of company stock valued at $20,351,084. Corporate insiders own 0.09% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Mastercard

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Family Legacy Financial Solutions LLC bought a new position in Mastercard in the 2nd quarter worth about $26,000. Flaharty Asset Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Mastercard in the 1st quarter worth approximately $27,000. Measured Risk Portfolios Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Mastercard in the 4th quarter worth approximately $31,000. Keystone Global Partners LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Mastercard in the 1st quarter worth approximately $31,000. Finally, Navigoe LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Mastercard in the 4th quarter worth approximately $33,000. 97.28% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.