Mastercard (NYSE:MA) Price Target Raised to $654.00 at Morgan Stanley

Mastercard (NYSE:MA) had its price target boosted by stock analysts at Morgan Stanley from $564.00 to $654.00 in a note issued to investors on Wednesday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage presently has an “overweight” rating on the credit services provider’s stock. Morgan Stanley’s price objective suggests a potential upside of 23.16% from the stock’s previous close.

Other equities analysts have also recently issued reports about the company. KeyCorp lifted their target price on Mastercard from $515.00 to $580.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, November 1st. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft boosted their price objective on Mastercard from $510.00 to $580.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, November 1st. Compass Point initiated coverage on shares of Mastercard in a report on Wednesday, September 4th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $525.00 target price for the company. TD Cowen boosted their price target on shares of Mastercard from $533.00 to $567.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, November 15th. Finally, Barclays raised their price objective on shares of Mastercard from $536.00 to $576.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 10th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-three have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Mastercard presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $562.88.

Mastercard Price Performance

Shares of Mastercard stock opened at $531.01 on Wednesday. Mastercard has a 52 week low of $416.53 and a 52 week high of $536.75. 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 $487.38 billion, a PE ratio of 40.17, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.38 and a beta of 1.10. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $518.69 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $482.89.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA) last released its earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The credit services provider reported $3.89 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.73 by $0.16. The business had revenue of $7.37 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.27 billion. Mastercard had a net margin of 45.26% and a return on equity of 178.27%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 12.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $3.39 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Mastercard will post 14.47 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Mastercard announced that its board has initiated a stock buyback program on Tuesday, December 17th that permits the company to buyback $12.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization permits the credit services provider to repurchase up to 2.5% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are often an indication that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Activity at Mastercard

In related news, CMO Venkata R. Madabhushi sold 4,685 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, September 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $489.86, for a total transaction of $2,294,994.10. Following the transaction, the chief marketing officer now owns 15,031 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,363,085.66. The trade was a 23.76 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. 0.10% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Mastercard

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Highline Wealth Partners LLC bought a new stake in shares of Mastercard during the third quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL acquired a new stake in Mastercard during the second quarter worth $34,000. Fairway Wealth LLC bought a new stake in Mastercard in the 2nd quarter valued at $35,000. First Personal Financial Services acquired a new position in shares of Mastercard in the 3rd quarter valued at $39,000. Finally, Lowe Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Mastercard by 74.0% during the 3rd quarter. Lowe Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 87 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $43,000 after acquiring an additional 37 shares during the period. 97.28% of the stock is owned by 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.