Mastercard (NYSE:MA) Stock Price Down 0.3% - Time to Sell?

Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA - Get Free Report)'s stock price traded down 0.3% during trading on Thursday . The stock traded as low as $512.33 and last traded at $512.46. 482,978 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 80% from the average session volume of 2,432,917 shares. The stock had previously closed at $514.07.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on MA shares. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price objective on Mastercard from $500.00 to $526.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday, August 1st. BMO Capital Markets reissued an "outperform" rating and issued a $520.00 price target on shares of Mastercard in a research note on Wednesday, August 14th. William Blair raised Mastercard to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 31st. Citigroup upped their price objective on shares of Mastercard from $528.00 to $538.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, August 1st. Finally, Piper Sandler boosted their price target on shares of Mastercard from $531.00 to $536.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, August 2nd. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eighteen have issued a buy rating and three have issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Mastercard presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $524.64.

Mastercard Price Performance

The company has a market cap of $477.74 billion, a PE ratio of 40.85, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.22 and a beta of 1.10. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $485.71 and a 200-day moving average price of $463.95. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.95, a current ratio of 1.14 and a quick ratio of 1.14.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 31st. The credit services provider reported $3.59 earnings per share (EPS) 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 firm had revenue of $6.96 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.85 billion. On average, equities analysts expect that Mastercard Incorporated will post 14.3 earnings per share for the current year.

Mastercard Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 8th. Investors of record on Wednesday, October 9th will be given a dividend of $0.66 per share. This represents a $2.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.51%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, October 9th. Mastercard's payout ratio is presently 20.99%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Mastercard

In related news, 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 completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 92,033,308 shares in the company, valued at approximately $43,113,923,465.68. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. In related news, major shareholder Foundation Mastercard sold 119,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $468.46, for a total value of $55,746,740.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 92,033,308 shares in the company, valued at approximately $43,113,923,465.68. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CFO J. Mehra Sachin sold 13,439 shares of Mastercard stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $455.00, for a total transaction of $6,114,745.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 27,304 shares of the company's stock, valued at $12,423,320. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 340,809 shares of company stock worth $159,610,703. 0.10% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Mastercard

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Scarborough Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Mastercard in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Signal Advisors Wealth LLC raised its holdings in Mastercard by 151.5% in the 1st quarter. Signal Advisors Wealth LLC now owns 1,235 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $595,000 after acquiring an additional 744 shares during the period. Schulz Wealth LTD. acquired a new position in Mastercard during the 1st quarter worth $217,000. Banque Cantonale Vaudoise boosted its holdings in Mastercard by 6.9% during the first quarter. Banque Cantonale Vaudoise now owns 41,250 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $19,865,000 after acquiring an additional 2,676 shares during the period. Finally, Wedmont Private Capital grew its position in shares of Mastercard by 6.0% in the first quarter. Wedmont Private Capital now owns 8,285 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $3,912,000 after purchasing an additional 466 shares during the last quarter. 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.