Oppenheimer Lowers Mastercard (NYSE:MA) Price Target to $588.00

Mastercard (NYSE:MA - Get Free Report) had its price target dropped by equities researchers at Oppenheimer from $591.00 to $588.00 in a report released on Thursday,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has an "outperform" rating on the credit services provider's stock. Oppenheimer's price target would indicate a potential upside of 12.37% from the company's previous close.

Several other equities analysts have also weighed in on the company. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lifted their price objective on Mastercard from $510.00 to $580.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, November 1st. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price objective on shares of Mastercard from $550.00 to $565.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Thursday, November 14th. Royal Bank of Canada reissued an "outperform" rating and issued a $572.00 target price on shares of Mastercard in a research note on Thursday, November 14th. Piper Sandler reaffirmed an "overweight" rating and set a $575.00 price target (up from $565.00) on shares of Mastercard in a research report on Friday, November 15th. Finally, TD Cowen raised their price objective on Mastercard from $533.00 to $567.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, November 15th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-three have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Mastercard presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $562.76.

Mastercard Trading Up 0.6 %

MA stock traded up $3.32 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $523.28. The stock had a trading volume of 3,050,229 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,467,996. Mastercard has a 12-month low of $416.53 and a 12-month high of $537.13. The company's 50-day moving average price is $519.10 and its 200 day moving average price is $483.15. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.36, a current ratio of 1.29 and a quick ratio of 1.29. The firm has a market cap of $480.28 billion, a PE ratio of 39.58, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.38 and a beta of 1.10.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 31st. The credit services provider reported $3.89 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates 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 the consensus estimate of $7.27 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $3.39 EPS. The company's quarterly revenue was up 12.8% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts predict that Mastercard will post 14.47 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Mastercard declared that its Board of Directors has approved a share repurchase plan on Tuesday, December 17th that allows the company to buyback $12.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the credit services provider to purchase up to 2.5% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are usually a sign that the company's board believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Activity at Mastercard

In other Mastercard news, CMO Venkata R. Madabhushi sold 4,685 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, September 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $489.86, for a total transaction of $2,294,994.10. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief marketing officer now directly owns 15,031 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $7,363,085.66. This trade represents a 23.76 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 0.10% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of Mastercard

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. State Street Corp grew its position in Mastercard by 0.7% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 35,288,912 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $17,425,665,000 after purchasing an additional 257,312 shares in the last quarter. FMR LLC grew its holdings in shares of Mastercard by 3.4% during the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 21,355,081 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $10,545,139,000 after buying an additional 700,769 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its position in Mastercard by 2.5% during 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 buying an additional 453,773 shares during the period. International Assets Investment Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Mastercard by 120,665.3% in 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 during the period. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. lifted its position in Mastercard by 4.2% in the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 7,501,814 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $3,800,836,000 after buying an additional 304,293 shares in the last quarter. 97.28% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.