Mastercard (NYSE:MA) Stock Price Expected to Rise, UBS Group Analyst Says

Mastercard (NYSE:MA) had its target price boosted by investment analysts at UBS Group from $590.00 to $610.00 in a report issued on Thursday,Benzinga reports. The firm presently has a “buy” rating on the credit services provider’s stock. UBS Group’s price target would indicate a potential upside of 16.88% from the company’s previous close.

Other equities analysts also recently issued research reports about the company. Argus upgraded Mastercard to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 1st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price target on Mastercard from $593.00 to $580.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, November 1st. Compass Point started coverage on shares of Mastercard in a report on Wednesday, September 4th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $525.00 price objective for the company. Robert W. Baird lifted their target price on shares of Mastercard from $545.00 to $575.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 16th. Finally, Susquehanna increased their price target on shares of Mastercard from $540.00 to $605.00 and gave the company a “positive” rating in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-one have issued a buy rating and three have issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $549.16.

Mastercard Trading Up 0.3 %

MA stock opened at $521.89 on Thursday. Mastercard has a 12-month low of $395.55 and a 12-month high of $534.03. The business’s 50-day moving average is $504.09 and its 200 day moving average is $471.04. The company has a current ratio of 1.29, a quick ratio of 1.29 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.36. The stock has a market cap of $479.01 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 39.48, a PEG ratio of 2.28 and a beta of 1.10.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA) last released its earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The credit services provider reported $3.89 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.73 by $0.16. Mastercard had a return on equity of 178.27% and a net margin of 45.26%. The business had revenue of $7.37 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.27 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $3.39 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 12.8% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Mastercard will post 14.45 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, major shareholder Foundation Mastercard sold 109,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $467.45, for a total transaction of $50,952,050.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 91,924,308 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $42,970,017,774.60. This represents a 0.12 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CMO Venkata R. Madabhushi sold 4,685 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, September 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $489.86, for a total value of $2,294,994.10. Following the sale, the chief marketing officer now directly owns 15,031 shares in the company, valued at $7,363,085.66. This trade represents a 23.76 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 208,370 shares of company stock worth $97,749,218 over the last 90 days. 0.10% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd. grew its stake in Mastercard by 46.4% during the 1st quarter. China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 14,785 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $7,120,000 after buying an additional 4,685 shares during the last quarter. Nwam LLC grew its position in shares of Mastercard by 20.1% during the first quarter. Nwam LLC now owns 1,659 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $760,000 after acquiring an additional 278 shares during the last quarter. M&G Plc acquired a new position in shares of Mastercard in the 1st quarter valued at $137,081,000. Nicolet Advisory Services LLC boosted its stake in Mastercard by 1.2% during the 1st quarter. Nicolet Advisory Services LLC now owns 4,334 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $2,046,000 after purchasing an additional 51 shares during the period. Finally, Intech Investment Management LLC increased its stake in Mastercard by 17.3% in the first quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC now owns 28,679 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $13,811,000 after purchasing an additional 4,227 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 97.28% of the company’s stock.

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.