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

Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) shares fell 0.2% during trading on Thursday . The company traded as low as $532.92 and last traded at $534.76. 193,118 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 92% from the average session volume of 2,471,318 shares. The stock had previously closed at $535.71.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on MA. Mizuho increased their price target on Mastercard from $496.00 to $532.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Royal Bank of Canada restated an “outperform” rating and set a $572.00 target price on shares of Mastercard in a research report on Thursday, November 14th. Barclays lifted 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. Piper Sandler reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and issued a $575.00 target price (up previously from $565.00) on shares of Mastercard in a research note on Friday, November 15th. Finally, Citigroup boosted their price target on shares of Mastercard from $566.00 to $572.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, November 4th. Three equities 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 currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $562.76.

Mastercard Stock Up 0.2 %

The stock has a market cap of $492.77 billion, a P/E ratio of 40.61, a P/E/G ratio of 2.36 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. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $521.56 and its 200-day simple moving average is $486.07.

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

Mastercard Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 7th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, January 9th will be paid a dividend of $0.76 per share. This is an increase from Mastercard’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.66. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, January 9th. This represents a $3.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.57%. Mastercard’s payout ratio is presently 23.00%.

Mastercard announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a share repurchase plan on Tuesday, December 17th that authorizes the company to repurchase $12.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the credit services provider to buy up to 2.5% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are usually a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. International Assets Investment Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Mastercard by 120,665.3% during the 3rd quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 8,041,758 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $3,971,020,000 after purchasing an additional 8,035,099 shares in the last quarter. Bank of Montreal Can increased its stake in Mastercard by 51.7% during the 3rd quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 5,765,714 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $2,846,187,000 after purchasing an additional 1,965,782 shares in the last quarter. FMR LLC lifted its position in Mastercard by 3.4% in the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 21,355,081 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $10,545,139,000 after acquiring an additional 700,769 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Mastercard by 2.5% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 18,375,053 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $9,043,972,000 after purchasing an additional 453,773 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Montrusco Bolton Investments Inc. grew its stake in shares of Mastercard by 52.8% in the 3rd quarter. Montrusco Bolton Investments Inc. now owns 1,185,081 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $573,017,000 after acquiring an additional 409,334 shares in the last quarter. 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.