Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) to Post Q4 2022 Earnings of $2.58 Per Share, Jefferies Financial Group Forecasts

Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA – Get Rating) – Analysts at Jefferies Financial Group raised their Q4 2022 earnings estimates for Mastercard in a note issued to investors on Wednesday, January 18th. Jefferies Financial Group analyst T. Williams now expects that the credit services provider will post earnings of $2.58 per share for the quarter, up from their previous forecast of $2.53. Jefferies Financial Group currently has a “Buy” rating and a $430.00 price objective on the stock. The consensus estimate for Mastercard’s current full-year earnings is $10.58 per share. Jefferies Financial Group also issued estimates for Mastercard’s Q1 2023 earnings at $2.79 EPS, Q2 2023 earnings at $3.05 EPS, Q3 2023 earnings at $3.26 EPS and Q4 2023 earnings at $3.09 EPS.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA – Get Rating) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, October 27th. The credit services provider reported $2.68 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.57 by $0.11. The firm had revenue of $5.76 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.66 billion. Mastercard had a net margin of 45.22% and a return on equity of 148.94%.

A number of other equities analysts also recently commented on the stock. Redburn Partners started coverage on shares of Mastercard in a research note on Tuesday, November 29th. They set a “neutral” rating for the company. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lowered their target price on shares of Mastercard from $440.00 to $375.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, October 13th. Raymond James lowered their target price on shares of Mastercard from $417.00 to $406.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, October 18th. Atlantic Securities decreased their price objective on shares of Mastercard from $400.00 to $345.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, October 12th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada decreased their price objective on shares of Mastercard from $400.00 to $392.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, October 28th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating and sixteen have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Mastercard currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $405.23.

Mastercard Stock Performance

Shares of MA stock opened at $376.28 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 1.25, a quick ratio of 1.25 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.11. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $353.48 and a 200 day moving average price of $334.42. The company has a market cap of $361.78 billion, a P/E ratio of 37.59, a PEG ratio of 1.68 and a beta of 1.10. Mastercard has a 12 month low of $276.87 and a 12 month high of $399.92.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in MA. Bornite Capital Management LP purchased a new position in Mastercard in the first quarter valued at about $21,442,000. United Bank increased its holdings in Mastercard by 34.5% in the first quarter. United Bank now owns 6,007 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $2,147,000 after buying an additional 1,541 shares in the last quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp increased its holdings in Mastercard by 30.1% in the first quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp now owns 272,358 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $97,335,000 after buying an additional 63,040 shares in the last quarter. First Western Trust Bank purchased a new position in Mastercard in the first quarter valued at about $1,168,000. Finally, Bridgewater Associates LP purchased a new position in Mastercard in the first quarter valued at about $12,926,000. 74.51% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Craig Vosburg sold 6,333 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, January 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $380.05, for a total transaction of $2,406,856.65. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 41,314 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $15,701,385.70. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In related news, insider Linda Pistecchia Kirkpatrick sold 7,064 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, October 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $320.00, for a total transaction of $2,260,480.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 11,207 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,586,240. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Craig Vosburg sold 6,333 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, January 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $380.05, for a total transaction of $2,406,856.65. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 41,314 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $15,701,385.70. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 367,819 shares of company stock valued at $117,733,271 over the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 0.29% of the company’s stock.

Mastercard Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, February 9th. Stockholders of record on Monday, January 9th will be issued a $0.57 dividend. This represents a $2.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.61%. This is a boost from Mastercard’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.49. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, January 6th. Mastercard’s dividend payout ratio is presently 22.78%.

Mastercard Company Profile

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Mastercard Incorporated, a technology company, provides transaction processing and other payment-related products and services in the United States and internationally. It facilitates the processing of payment transactions, including authorization, clearing, and settlement, as well as delivers other payment-related products and services.