Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) Given Average Recommendation of "Moderate Buy" by Brokerages

Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA - Get Free Report) has been given a consensus recommendation of "Moderate Buy" by the twenty-seven analysts that are presently covering the company, MarketBeat.com reports. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation, twenty-two have assigned a buy recommendation and one has assigned a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average 12-month target price among brokers that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $567.29.

Several analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Mizuho upped their price objective on Mastercard from $496.00 to $532.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday, November 1st. UBS Group increased their price objective on shares of Mastercard from $590.00 to $610.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, November 14th. Barclays boosted their target price on shares of Mastercard from $536.00 to $576.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, October 10th. Jefferies Financial Group increased their price target on shares of Mastercard from $590.00 to $610.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, December 9th. Finally, Citigroup boosted their price objective on Mastercard from $572.00 to $584.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 14th.

Mastercard Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:MA traded up $16.01 during trading on Thursday, hitting $564.81. 6,004,121 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,783,426. The business's 50-day simple moving average is $526.58 and its 200 day simple moving average is $499.80. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.36, a current ratio of 1.29 and a quick ratio of 1.29. Mastercard has a 52-week low of $428.86 and a 52-week high of $576.94. The company has a market cap of $518.40 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 42.72, a PEG ratio of 2.10 and a beta of 1.10.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 30th. The credit services provider reported $3.82 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.71 by $0.11. Mastercard had a net margin of 45.26% and a return on equity of 178.27%. As a group, equities analysts predict that Mastercard will post 14.47 EPS for the current year.

Mastercard Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 7th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, January 9th will be given a dividend of $0.76 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, January 10th. This represents a $3.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.54%. This is an increase from Mastercard's previous quarterly dividend of $0.66. Mastercard's dividend payout ratio is currently 23.00%.

Mastercard announced that its board has initiated 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 shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are generally a sign that the company's board believes its shares are undervalued.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Mastercard

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Temasek Holdings Private Ltd lifted its stake in shares of Mastercard by 2.3% in 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 purchasing an additional 62,891 shares during the last quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB grew its stake in shares of Mastercard by 15.6% in the fourth quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 2,510,756 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $1,325,353,000 after buying an additional 337,905 shares in the last quarter. Cardano Risk Management B.V. lifted its stake in Mastercard by 2.7% during the 4th quarter. Cardano Risk Management B.V. now owns 368,690 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $194,141,000 after acquiring an additional 9,611 shares in the last quarter. Sarasin & Partners LLP boosted its holdings in Mastercard by 4.7% during the 3rd quarter. Sarasin & Partners LLP now owns 831,942 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $410,813,000 after acquiring an additional 37,486 shares during the period. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its position in Mastercard by 2.0% in the 3rd 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 acquiring an additional 100,550 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 97.28% of the company's stock.

About Mastercard

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.