Mastercard (MA) Set to Announce Earnings on Wednesday

Mastercard (NYSE:MA - Get Free Report) is scheduled to be posting its quarterly earnings results before the market opens on Wednesday, July 31st. Analysts expect Mastercard to post earnings of $3.51 per share for the quarter. Individual interested in listening to the company's earnings conference call can do so using this link.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 1st. The credit services provider reported $3.31 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.22 by $0.09. Mastercard had a return on equity of 183.70% and a net margin of 46.09%. The business had revenue of $6.35 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.34 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $2.80 EPS. Mastercard's quarterly revenue was up 10.4% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts expect Mastercard to post $14 EPS for the current fiscal year and $16 EPS for the next fiscal year.

Mastercard Stock Down 2.1 %

Shares of MA traded down $9.27 on Wednesday, hitting $432.45. The company's stock had a trading volume of 3,728,958 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,495,020. The company has a quick ratio of 1.09, a current ratio of 1.09 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.86. The firm's fifty day moving average price is $448.04 and its 200-day moving average price is $455.88. Mastercard has a fifty-two week low of $359.77 and a fifty-two week high of $490.00. The firm has a market capitalization of $402.01 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.21, a P/E/G ratio of 1.77 and a beta of 1.09.

Mastercard Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 9th. Investors of record on Tuesday, July 9th will be given a $0.66 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, July 9th. This represents a $2.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.61%. Mastercard's dividend payout ratio is presently 20.99%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on MA shares. TD Cowen started coverage on Mastercard in a research report on Thursday, April 11th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $545.00 price objective for the company. Robert W. Baird upped their price target on Mastercard from $525.00 to $545.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday, April 18th. Mizuho reduced their price target on Mastercard from $480.00 to $478.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, May 2nd. Bank of America downgraded Mastercard from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and reduced their price target for the stock from $505.00 to $480.00 in a research report on Wednesday, July 10th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price target on Mastercard from $510.00 to $500.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, July 18th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-three have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $498.13.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Mastercard news, major shareholder Foundation Mastercard sold 116,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $445.04, for a total transaction of $51,624,640.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 96,651,308 shares in the company, valued at approximately $43,013,698,112.32. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. In related news, major shareholder Foundation Mastercard sold 116,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $445.04, for a total value of $51,624,640.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 96,651,308 shares in the company, valued at $43,013,698,112.32. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Sandra A. Arkell sold 300 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $454.00, for a total value of $136,200.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 3,463 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,572,202. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 2,834,228 shares of company stock worth $1,277,491,060 in the last 90 days. Company insiders own 0.10% 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.