Mastercard (NYSE:MA) Hits New 1-Year High - Here's Why

Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA - Get Free Report)'s share price hit a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Monday . The company traded as high as $518.32 and last traded at $516.42, with a volume of 132180 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $516.34.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

MA has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Susquehanna raised their price target on shares of Mastercard from $535.00 to $540.00 and gave the stock a "positive" rating in a research report on Thursday, August 1st. Robert W. Baird raised their target price on shares of Mastercard from $545.00 to $575.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Wednesday, October 16th. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price target on Mastercard from $500.00 to $526.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Thursday, August 1st. Argus upgraded Mastercard to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, August 1st. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on Mastercard from $570.00 to $593.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Monday. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eighteen have issued a buy rating and three have given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $525.68.

Mastercard Price Performance

The business has a 50-day moving average of $488.09 and a two-hundred day moving average of $464.33. The company has a current ratio of 1.14, a quick ratio of 1.14 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.95. The firm has a market cap of $478.76 billion, a P/E ratio of 40.94, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.22 and a beta of 1.10.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 31st. The credit services provider reported $3.59 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.51 by $0.08. Mastercard had a return on equity of 179.78% and a net margin of 46.45%. The company had revenue of $6.96 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $6.85 billion. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Mastercard Incorporated will post 14.3 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Mastercard Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 8th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, October 9th will be given a $0.66 dividend. This represents a $2.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.51%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, October 9th. Mastercard's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 20.99%.

Insider Activity

In other Mastercard news, CMO Venkata R. Madabhushi sold 4,685 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Friday, September 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $489.86, for a total value of $2,294,994.10. Following the sale, the chief marketing officer now owns 15,031 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,363,085.66. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. In other news, CMO Venkata R. Madabhushi sold 4,685 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, September 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $489.86, for a total value of $2,294,994.10. Following the transaction, the chief marketing officer now owns 15,031 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,363,085.66. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, major shareholder Foundation Mastercard sold 119,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, August 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $468.46, for a total transaction of $55,746,740.00. Following the sale, the insider now owns 92,033,308 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $43,113,923,465.68. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 340,809 shares of company stock valued at $159,610,703. Insiders own 0.10% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of Mastercard

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Palisade Asset Management LLC bought a new position in Mastercard in the first quarter worth approximately $27,000. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL acquired a new position in shares of Mastercard during the second quarter worth approximately $34,000. Fairway Wealth LLC bought a new position in shares of Mastercard in the 2nd quarter worth $35,000. Steph & Co. acquired a new stake in Mastercard in the 1st quarter valued at $43,000. Finally, Lowe Wealth Advisors LLC increased its stake in Mastercard by 74.0% during the 3rd quarter. Lowe Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 87 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $43,000 after purchasing an additional 37 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.