Oppenheimer Has Lowered Expectations for Mastercard (NYSE:MA) Stock Price

Mastercard (NYSE:MA) had its price objective decreased by equities researchers at Oppenheimer from $591.00 to $588.00 in a report issued on Thursday,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has an “outperform” rating on the credit services provider’s stock. Oppenheimer’s price target indicates a potential upside of 11.36% from the company’s previous close.

Several other research firms have also weighed in on MA. Compass Point began coverage on shares of Mastercard in a research report on Wednesday, September 4th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $525.00 price objective for the company. KeyCorp lifted their target price on shares of Mastercard from $515.00 to $580.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, November 1st. TD Cowen increased their target price on Mastercard from $533.00 to $567.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, November 15th. Macquarie raised their price target on shares of Mastercard from $505.00 to $565.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, November 1st. Finally, Susquehanna upped their price target on shares of Mastercard from $540.00 to $605.00 and gave the stock a “positive” rating in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-three have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $562.76.

Mastercard Trading Up 0.9 %

Shares of MA stock opened at $528.03 on Thursday. The firm has a market capitalization of $484.64 billion, a PE ratio of 39.94, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.38 and a beta of 1.10. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.36, a quick ratio of 1.29 and a current ratio of 1.29. Mastercard has a 1 year low of $416.53 and a 1 year high of $537.13. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $520.12 and a two-hundred day moving average of $484.02.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The credit services provider reported $3.89 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.73 by $0.16. Mastercard had a net margin of 45.26% and a return on equity of 178.27%. The firm had revenue of $7.37 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.27 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $3.39 EPS. Mastercard’s revenue was up 12.8% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts expect that Mastercard will post 14.47 EPS for the current year.

Mastercard declared that its Board of Directors has approved a share buyback plan on Tuesday, December 17th that authorizes the company to buyback $12.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the credit services provider to reacquire up to 2.5% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are typically a sign that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

Institutional Trading of Mastercard

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Temasek Holdings Private Ltd boosted its position in shares of Mastercard by 2.3% during the 3rd quarter. Temasek Holdings Private Ltd now owns 2,805,554 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $1,385,383,000 after acquiring an additional 62,891 shares in the last quarter. Sarasin & Partners LLP lifted its stake in Mastercard by 4.7% during the third quarter. Sarasin & Partners LLP now owns 831,942 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $410,813,000 after purchasing an additional 37,486 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its holdings in Mastercard by 2.0% during the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 5,010,430 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $2,474,151,000 after purchasing an additional 100,550 shares in the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of Mastercard by 4.8% in the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 3,031,915 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $1,497,160,000 after purchasing an additional 138,842 shares during the period. Finally, Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. acquired a new position in shares of Mastercard in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $6,850,000. Institutional investors 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.