Clear Str Upgrades Mastercard (NYSE:MA) to “Strong-Buy”

Mastercard (NYSE:MA) was upgraded by Clear Str to a “strong-buy” rating in a report released on Thursday,Zacks.com reports.

Several other analysts have also commented on the stock. Susquehanna lowered their price objective on shares of Mastercard from $670.00 to $665.00 and set a “positive” rating for the company in a report on Friday, May 1st. Loop Capital reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $631.00 target price on shares of Mastercard in a report on Wednesday, June 3rd. Robert W. Baird increased their target price on Mastercard from $660.00 to $680.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 7th. Truist Financial lowered their target price on Mastercard from $590.00 to $561.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, May 12th. Finally, Piper Sandler began coverage on Mastercard in a research note on Monday, June 29th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $597.00 price target on the stock. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty have issued a Buy rating, one has given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $653.92.

Mastercard Stock Up 3.0%

Shares of NYSE MA opened at $551.15 on Thursday. The company has a current ratio of 0.98, a quick ratio of 0.98 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.56. Mastercard has a 12 month low of $464.52 and a 12 month high of $601.77. The firm has a market capitalization of $486.98 billion, a PE ratio of 31.90, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.67 and a beta of 0.73. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $503.03 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $516.04.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, April 30th. The credit services provider reported $4.60 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $4.41 by $0.19. Mastercard had a net margin of 45.88% and a return on equity of 212.96%. The firm had revenue of $8.40 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $8.26 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted $3.73 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 15.8% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts expect that Mastercard will post 19.62 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity at Mastercard

In other news, insider Raj Seshadri sold 4,828 shares of Mastercard stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, July 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $525.00, for a total transaction of $2,534,700.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 16,429 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,625,225. This trade represents a 22.71% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, insider Sandra A. Arkell sold 200 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, July 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $540.00, for a total value of $108,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 3,322 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,793,880. This represents a 5.68% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders have sold 7,005 shares of company stock valued at $3,689,976 over the last quarter. Company insiders own 0.09% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Mastercard

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of MA. Hyperion Asset Management Ltd grew its position in Mastercard by 27.0% during the 2nd quarter. Hyperion Asset Management Ltd now owns 142,097 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $72,981,000 after purchasing an additional 30,182 shares during the last quarter. Accel Wealth Management raised its holdings in Mastercard by 7.4% in the second quarter. Accel Wealth Management now owns 638 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $328,000 after buying an additional 44 shares during the last quarter. Adirondack Capital Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Mastercard by 64.9% in the second quarter. Adirondack Capital Advisors LLC now owns 2,540 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $1,305,000 after buying an additional 1,000 shares during the last quarter. Tema ETFs LLC lifted its stake in shares of Mastercard by 7.6% in the second quarter. Tema ETFs LLC now owns 17,084 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $8,774,000 after buying an additional 1,203 shares in the last quarter. Finally, West Branch Capital LLC lifted its stake in shares of Mastercard by 1.6% in the second quarter. West Branch Capital LLC now owns 8,619 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $4,427,000 after buying an additional 139 shares in the last quarter. 97.28% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Mastercard

Mastercard Incorporated is a global payments technology company that operates a network connecting consumers, financial institutions, merchants, governments and businesses in more than 200 countries and territories. The company facilitates electronic payments and transaction processing for credit, debit and prepaid card products carrying the Mastercard brand, while also providing a range of payment-related services to issuers, acquirers and merchants. Its technology and network enable authorization, clearing and settlement of payments and support a broad set of use cases including point-of-sale, e-commerce and mobile payments.

Beyond core transaction processing, Mastercard offers a suite of value-added services such as fraud and risk management, identity and authentication tools, tokenization and digital wallet support, cross-border and commercial payment solutions, and data analytics and consulting services for merchants and financial partners.