UBS Group Forecasts Strong Price Appreciation for Mastercard (NYSE:MA) Stock

Mastercard (NYSE:MA) had its price target lifted by stock analysts at UBS Group from $670.00 to $750.00 in a research report issued on Friday, Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has a “buy” rating on the credit services provider’s stock. UBS Group‘s price target suggests a potential upside of 17.46% from the company’s current price.

Several other equities research analysts have also recently weighed in on MA. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on shares of Mastercard from $668.00 to $731.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday. Raymond James Financial reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $632.00 price objective (up from $609.00) on shares of Mastercard in a research report on Friday, July 31st. TD Cowen lifted their price objective on shares of Mastercard from $667.00 to $726.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday. Daiwa Securities Group boosted their target price on shares of Mastercard from $580.00 to $650.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, August 6th. Finally, KeyCorp upped their target price on shares of Mastercard from $722.00 to $735.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty have issued a Buy rating, one has given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Mastercard currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $702.91.

Mastercard Stock Performance

NYSE MA opened at $638.50 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.29, a current ratio of 1.01 and a quick ratio of 1.01. Mastercard has a 1-year low of $464.52 and a 1-year high of $644.24. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $586.79 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $536.21. The stock has a market capitalization of $559.33 billion, a PE ratio of 33.39, a P/E/G ratio of 1.81 and a beta of 0.78.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 29th. The credit services provider reported $5.31 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $5.17 by $0.14. The business had revenue of $9.81 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $9.66 billion. Mastercard had a return on equity of 260.86% and a net margin of 46.73%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 14.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $4.38 EPS. On average, research analysts predict that Mastercard will post 19.96 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Mastercard

In other Mastercard news, insider Linda Kirkpatrick sold 4,280 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the insider owned 31,179 shares in the company, valued at $17,781,695.49. The trade was a 12.07% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, insider Sachin Mehra sold 7,444 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $577.13, for a total transaction of $4,296,155.72. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 40,916 shares in the company, valued at approximately $23,613,851.08. This represents a 15.39% 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. Insiders sold 39,420 shares of company stock valued at $22,882,963 over the last three months. Corporate insiders own 0.09% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Mastercard

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in MA. State Street Corp lifted its position in shares of Mastercard by 1.3% during the second quarter. State Street Corp now owns 36,964,305 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $18,984,867,000 after purchasing an additional 486,283 shares during the last quarter. Jennison Associates LLC boosted its position in Mastercard by 10.4% in the 1st quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 5,123,041 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $2,559,779,000 after buying an additional 480,725 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its stake in Mastercard by 1.0% in the 1st quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 4,225,359 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $2,111,216,000 after acquiring an additional 42,871 shares in the last quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership increased its position in shares of Mastercard by 17.8% during the first quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 3,666,018 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $1,831,763,000 after acquiring an additional 554,366 shares during the period. Finally, Amundi raised its stake in shares of Mastercard by 5.8% during the second quarter. Amundi now owns 3,626,416 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $1,862,527,000 after acquiring an additional 199,424 shares in the last quarter. 97.28% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Mastercard News Roundup

Here are the key news stories impacting Mastercard this week:

• Positive Sentiment: UBS Group raised its Mastercard price target from $670 to $750 and upgraded the stock to “Buy.” The new target implies approximately 17.5% upside from the referenced $638.50 share price. UBS Group Mastercard rating information
• Positive Sentiment: Cantor Fitzgerald increased its target from $695 to $765 and assigned an “Overweight” rating, implying approximately 19.8% upside from the referenced share price. Cantor Fitzgerald Mastercard rating information
• Positive Sentiment: Additional analysts raised their Mastercard targets to $742, $726, $700 and $740, reinforcing a favorable view of the payments company’s growth prospects. Mastercard price target raised to $742 Mastercard price target raised to $726
• Positive Sentiment: JPMorgan Chase and Wells Fargo analysts also forecast strong appreciation for Mastercard shares, adding to the positive sell-side momentum. JPMorgan Mastercard outlook Wells Fargo Mastercard outlook

About Mastercard

Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE: MA) is a global payments technology company that operates a network connecting consumers, financial institutions, merchants, governments and businesses. The company facilitates electronic payments and provides technology that supports transactions conducted through credit, debit, prepaid and commercial payment products.

In addition to operating its payments network, Mastercard offers services in areas such as payment security, fraud prevention, authentication, cybersecurity, data and analytics, loyalty programs, digital identity and open banking.