Mastercard (NYSE:MA) Price Target Cut to $478.00 by Analysts at Mizuho

Mastercard (NYSE:MA) had its target price cut by Mizuho from $480.00 to $478.00 in a research note issued to investors on Thursday morning, Benzinga reports. They currently have a buy rating on the credit services provider’s stock.

A number of other analysts also recently issued reports on MA. KeyCorp raised their target price on Mastercard from $475.00 to $490.00 and gave the stock an overweight rating in a research report on Thursday, February 1st. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on shares of Mastercard from $490.00 to $530.00 and gave the company an overweight rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 6th. Susquehanna reaffirmed a positive rating and issued a $535.00 price objective on shares of Mastercard in a report on Wednesday, April 3rd. Oppenheimer reissued an outperform rating and set a $510.00 target price on shares of Mastercard in a report on Thursday, February 1st. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada increased their target price on Mastercard from $432.00 to $499.00 and gave the stock an outperform rating in a research report on Thursday, February 1st. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-two have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of Moderate Buy and an average price target of $493.55.

Mastercard Stock Up 0.6 %

Shares of NYSE:MA opened at $443.61 on Thursday. The company has a market capitalization of $413.84 billion, a PE ratio of 35.26, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.71 and a beta of 1.08. Mastercard has a 1 year low of $357.85 and a 1 year high of $490.00. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.86, a current ratio of 1.09 and a quick ratio of 1.17. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $470.17 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $437.44.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 1st. The credit services provider reported $3.31 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.22 by $0.09. The business had revenue of $6.35 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.34 billion. Mastercard had a net margin of 46.09% and a return on equity of 183.70%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 10.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $2.80 earnings per share. Analysts forecast that Mastercard will post 14.32 earnings per share for the current year.

Mastercard Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 9th. Investors of record on Tuesday, April 9th will be given a $0.66 dividend. This represents a $2.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.60%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, April 8th. Mastercard’s payout ratio is presently 20.99%.

Insider Activity

In other Mastercard news, CEO Michael Miebach sold 7,851 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $475.92, for a total value of $3,736,447.92. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 47,640 shares in the company, valued at $22,672,828.80. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other Mastercard news, CMO Venkata R. Madabhushi sold 16,037 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, March 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $475.94, for a total transaction of $7,632,649.78. Following the transaction, the chief marketing officer now directly owns 12,255 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,832,644.70. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO Michael Miebach sold 7,851 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $475.92, for a total transaction of $3,736,447.92. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 47,640 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $22,672,828.80. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 583,088 shares of company stock valued at $266,873,978. 0.13% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Mastercard

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of MA. Westend Capital Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Mastercard in the 1st quarter worth about $27,000. Palisade Asset Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Mastercard during the first quarter valued at approximately $27,000. VitalStone Financial LLC boosted its position in shares of Mastercard by 300.0% in the 4th quarter. VitalStone Financial LLC now owns 60 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 45 shares in the last quarter. Altshuler Shaham Ltd purchased a new stake in shares of Mastercard in the 4th quarter worth approximately $26,000. Finally, LFA Lugano Financial Advisors SA bought a new position in Mastercard during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $27,000. 97.28% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Mastercard Company Profile

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.