Mastercard (NYSE:MA) Shares Down 0.2% – Here’s What Happened

Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA)’s share price traded down 0.2% during trading on Friday . The company traded as low as $517.68 and last traded at $521.37. 409,801 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 74% from the average session volume of 1,585,063 shares. The stock had previously closed at $522.40.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

MA has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Mizuho upped their target price on shares of Mastercard from $496.00 to $532.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, November 1st. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $572.00 price target on shares of Mastercard in a report on Thursday, November 14th. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their target price on shares of Mastercard from $590.00 to $610.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, December 9th. KeyCorp upped their price objective on shares of Mastercard from $515.00 to $580.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Finally, Macquarie upped their price target on shares of Mastercard from $505.00 to $565.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, November 1st. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-three have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Mastercard presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $562.76.

Mastercard Price Performance

The stock has a market capitalization of $479.45 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 39.51, a P/E/G ratio of 2.36 and a beta of 1.10. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $523.30 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $489.21. The company has a quick ratio of 1.29, a current ratio of 1.29 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.36.

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

Mastercard Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 7th. Investors of record on Thursday, January 9th will be paid a $0.76 dividend. This is a positive change from Mastercard’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.66. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, January 9th. This represents a $3.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.58%. Mastercard’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 23.00%.

Mastercard announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a share repurchase 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 buy up to 2.5% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are generally a sign that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Institutional Trading of Mastercard

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Versor Investments LP acquired a new position in Mastercard in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $432,000. Founders Financial Securities LLC boosted its stake in Mastercard by 7.7% during the second quarter. Founders Financial Securities LLC now owns 617 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $272,000 after buying an additional 44 shares in the last quarter. GPM Growth Investors Inc. bought a new stake in Mastercard in the 2nd quarter valued at $263,000. Mattern Capital Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Mastercard by 41.9% in the 2nd quarter. Mattern Capital Management LLC now owns 1,046 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $461,000 after buying an additional 309 shares in the last quarter. Finally, FineMark National Bank & Trust lifted its holdings in shares of Mastercard by 2.0% during the 2nd quarter. FineMark National Bank & Trust now owns 56,611 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $24,975,000 after acquiring an additional 1,126 shares during the period. 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.