Mastercard (NYSE:MA) Hits New 52-Week High at $418.41

Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) hit a new 52-week high during trading on Wednesday . The stock traded as high as $418.41 and last traded at $417.13, with a volume of 739295 shares. The stock had previously closed at $416.27.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

MA has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Citigroup boosted their target price on Mastercard from $440.00 to $455.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, July 31st. Bank of America boosted their target price on Mastercard from $438.00 to $442.00 in a research note on Tuesday, July 18th. Susquehanna boosted their price target on Mastercard from $433.00 to $486.00 and gave the stock a “positive” rating in a report on Friday, July 28th. Credit Suisse Group boosted their price target on Mastercard from $400.00 to $430.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, July 28th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on Mastercard from $425.00 to $440.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, July 28th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and eighteen have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $440.96.

Mastercard Price Performance

The stock has a market capitalization of $393.07 billion, a P/E ratio of 39.01, a PEG ratio of 1.86 and a beta of 1.10. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $400.63 and a 200-day simple moving average of $380.70. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.57, a quick ratio of 1.13 and a current ratio of 1.13.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 27th. The credit services provider reported $2.89 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.84 by $0.05. The firm had revenue of $6.30 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.18 billion. Mastercard had a return on equity of 178.10% and a net margin of 43.37%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 14.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $2.56 EPS. Sell-side analysts expect that Mastercard Incorporated will post 12.13 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Mastercard Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, August 9th. Shareholders of record on Friday, July 7th were issued a dividend of $0.57 per share. This represents a $2.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.55%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, July 6th. Mastercard’s payout ratio is 21.37%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CFO J. Mehra Sachin sold 6,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, September 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $413.65, for a total transaction of $2,481,900.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 20,707 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,565,450.55. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In other news, CFO J. Mehra Sachin sold 6,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, September 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $413.65, for a total transaction of $2,481,900.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 20,707 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,565,450.55. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Hai Ling sold 3,324 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $415.00, for a total value of $1,379,460.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 17,577 shares in the company, valued at $7,294,455. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 407,267 shares of company stock worth $161,485,243. Corporate insiders own 0.13% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Mastercard

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Sigma Investment Counselors Inc. grew its stake in Mastercard by 13.8% in the 1st quarter. Sigma Investment Counselors Inc. now owns 808 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $294,000 after purchasing an additional 98 shares during the period. Bell Bank grew its stake in shares of Mastercard by 2.0% during the 1st quarter. Bell Bank now owns 1,908 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $693,000 after acquiring an additional 38 shares during the period. Summit Trail Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Mastercard by 88.7% during the 1st quarter. Summit Trail Advisors LLC now owns 8,503 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $3,090,000 after acquiring an additional 3,998 shares during the period. CMH Wealth Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Mastercard by 0.4% during the 1st quarter. CMH Wealth Management LLC now owns 11,201 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $4,071,000 after acquiring an additional 49 shares during the period. Finally, Hennessy Advisors Inc. grew its stake in shares of Mastercard by 25.4% during the 1st quarter. Hennessy Advisors Inc. now owns 4,747 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $1,725,000 after acquiring an additional 961 shares during the period. 74.94% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other 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. It facilitates the processing of payment transactions, including authorization, clearing, and settlement, as well as delivers other payment-related products and services.