Mastercard (NYSE:MA) Rating Increased to Strong-Buy at Citigroup

Citigroup upgraded shares of Mastercard (NYSE:MA) to a strong-buy rating in a research report released on Thursday,Zacks.com reports.

A number of other research analysts have also weighed in on the company. Wall Street Zen raised Mastercard from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Saturday, October 18th. The Goldman Sachs Group reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Mastercard in a report on Friday, August 1st. Truist Financial cut their price objective on Mastercard from $640.00 to $612.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, July 17th. Seaport Res Ptn raised Mastercard from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday, July 14th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised Mastercard to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-two have issued a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Mastercard has an average rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $638.00.

Mastercard Trading Up 0.4%

Shares of NYSE:MA opened at $573.59 on Thursday. The business’s 50-day moving average is $579.67 and its 200 day moving average is $564.74. Mastercard has a 1 year low of $465.59 and a 1 year high of $601.77. The firm has a market capitalization of $518.53 billion, a P/E ratio of 38.68, a P/E/G ratio of 2.34 and a beta of 0.97. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.41, a current ratio of 1.16 and a quick ratio of 1.16.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, July 31st. The credit services provider reported $4.15 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $4.05 by $0.10. Mastercard had a return on equity of 200.01% and a net margin of 44.93%.The company had revenue of $8.13 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.95 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $3.50 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 16.8% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts predict that Mastercard will post 15.91 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Mastercard Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 7th. Investors of record on Thursday, October 9th will be issued a dividend of $0.76 per share. This represents a $3.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.5%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, October 9th. Mastercard’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 20.50%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Mastercard

In other news, CFO J. Mehra Sachin sold 17,816 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $586.89, for a total value of $10,456,032.24. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 31,234 shares in the company, valued at $18,330,922.26. This trade represents a 36.32% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. 0.09% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Mastercard

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. ORG Partners LLC lifted its position in shares of Mastercard by 73.2% in the second quarter. ORG Partners LLC now owns 698 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $394,000 after acquiring an additional 295 shares in the last quarter. Ethos Financial Group LLC lifted its position in shares of Mastercard by 19.5% in the first quarter. Ethos Financial Group LLC now owns 3,174 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $1,683,000 after acquiring an additional 518 shares in the last quarter. Wheelhouse Advisory Group LLC lifted its position in Mastercard by 4.4% during the second quarter. Wheelhouse Advisory Group LLC now owns 1,336 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $751,000 after buying an additional 56 shares in the last quarter. Canandaigua National Trust Co of Florida lifted its position in Mastercard by 36.4% during the first quarter. Canandaigua National Trust Co of Florida now owns 693 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $380,000 after buying an additional 185 shares in the last quarter. Finally, SeaBridge Investment Advisors LLC lifted its position in Mastercard by 4.3% during the second quarter. SeaBridge Investment Advisors LLC now owns 6,463 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $3,632,000 after buying an additional 264 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 97.28% of the company’s stock.

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.