Mastercard (NYSE:MA) Price Target Increased to $545.00 by Analysts at Robert W. Baird

Mastercard (NYSE:MA) had its price target lifted by Robert W. Baird from $525.00 to $545.00 in a research report sent to investors on Thursday, Benzinga reports. Robert W. Baird currently has an outperform rating on the credit services provider’s stock.

A number of other analysts have also commented on MA. William Blair reaffirmed an outperform rating on shares of Mastercard in a research note on Wednesday, January 31st. KeyCorp increased their price target on shares of Mastercard from $475.00 to $490.00 and gave the stock an overweight rating in a research note on Thursday, February 1st. BMO Capital Markets raised their price objective on shares of Mastercard from $480.00 to $490.00 and gave the stock an outperform rating in a report on Thursday, February 1st. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on Mastercard from $490.00 to $530.00 and gave the stock an overweight rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 6th. Finally, Susquehanna restated a positive rating and issued a $535.00 target price on shares of Mastercard in a research note on Wednesday, April 3rd. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-two have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus price target of $490.23.

Mastercard Trading Down 1.3 %

NYSE MA opened at $454.39 on Thursday. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $471.75 and a 200-day moving average of $433.36. The company has a current ratio of 1.17, a quick ratio of 1.17 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.06. Mastercard has a 1-year low of $357.85 and a 1-year high of $490.00. The firm has a market cap of $423.90 billion, a PE ratio of 38.41, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.75 and a beta of 1.08.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 31st. The credit services provider reported $3.18 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.08 by $0.10. Mastercard had a return on equity of 191.22% and a net margin of 44.60%. The firm had revenue of $6.55 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.46 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $2.65 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Mastercard will post 14.35 EPS for the current year.

Mastercard Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 9th. Investors of record on Tuesday, April 9th will be issued a $0.66 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, April 8th. This represents a $2.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.58%. Mastercard’s payout ratio is 22.32%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, insider Ajay Bhalla sold 98 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, January 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $439.52, for a total value of $43,072.96. Following the sale, the insider now owns 6,235 shares in the company, valued at $2,740,407.20. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In related news, insider Ajay Bhalla sold 98 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, January 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $439.52, for a total transaction of $43,072.96. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 6,235 shares in the company, valued at $2,740,407.20. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, major shareholder Foundation Mastercard sold 200 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $487.25, for a total value of $97,450.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 97,543,308 shares in the company, valued at $47,527,976,823. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 37,728 shares of company stock valued at $17,739,753. 0.13% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Bornite Capital Management LP purchased a new stake in Mastercard in the 1st quarter worth approximately $21,442,000. United Bank increased its stake in shares of Mastercard by 34.5% in the first quarter. United Bank now owns 6,007 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $2,147,000 after purchasing an additional 1,541 shares in the last quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp raised its position in shares of Mastercard by 30.1% during the 1st quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp now owns 272,358 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $97,335,000 after purchasing an additional 63,040 shares during the period. First Western Trust Bank purchased a new position in shares of Mastercard during the 1st quarter valued at $1,168,000. Finally, Bridgewater Associates LP bought a new position in Mastercard in the 1st quarter worth $12,926,000. 97.28% of the stock is currently 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.