KeyCorp Weighs in on Mastercard's FY2024 Earnings (NYSE:MA)

Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA - Free Report) - Stock analysts at KeyCorp issued their FY2024 earnings per share estimates for Mastercard in a report released on Wednesday, December 18th. KeyCorp analyst A. Markgraff forecasts that the credit services provider will post earnings of $14.47 per share for the year. KeyCorp currently has a "Overweight" rating and a $580.00 target price on the stock. The consensus estimate for Mastercard's current full-year earnings is $14.47 per share. KeyCorp also issued estimates for Mastercard's Q4 2024 earnings at $3.69 EPS.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The credit services provider reported $3.89 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.73 by $0.16. The business had revenue of $7.37 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $7.27 billion. Mastercard had a net margin of 45.26% and a return on equity of 178.27%. The business's quarterly revenue was up 12.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $3.39 earnings per share.

Several other brokerages have also recently issued reports on MA. Piper Sandler reiterated an "overweight" rating and issued a $575.00 price objective (up from $565.00) on shares of Mastercard in a research note on Friday, November 15th. UBS Group increased their price target on Mastercard from $590.00 to $610.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, November 14th. TD Cowen upped their target price on shares of Mastercard from $533.00 to $567.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, November 15th. Compass Point began coverage on shares of Mastercard in a report on Wednesday, September 4th. They set a "neutral" rating and a $525.00 price target for the company. Finally, Macquarie raised their price objective on shares of Mastercard from $505.00 to $565.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday, November 1st. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-three have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Mastercard presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $562.76.

Mastercard Stock Up 0.9 %

Mastercard stock traded up $4.75 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $528.03. 7,284,947 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,487,580. The company has a fifty day moving average of $520.12 and a 200-day moving average of $484.02. The company has a market cap of $484.64 billion, a P/E ratio of 39.94, a P/E/G ratio of 2.38 and a beta of 1.10. The company has a quick ratio of 1.29, a current ratio of 1.29 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.36. Mastercard has a twelve month low of $416.53 and a twelve month high of $537.13.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Mastercard

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Temasek Holdings Private Ltd lifted its position in Mastercard by 2.3% in the third 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 period. Sarasin & Partners LLP raised its stake in shares of Mastercard by 4.7% during the 3rd quarter. Sarasin & Partners LLP now owns 831,942 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $410,813,000 after buying an additional 37,486 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of 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 buying an additional 100,550 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Mastercard by 4.8% in the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 3,031,915 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $1,497,160,000 after buying an additional 138,842 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. acquired a new position in Mastercard during the second quarter worth $6,850,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 97.28% of the company's stock.

Mastercard announced that its Board of Directors has approved a stock repurchase program on Tuesday, December 17th that authorizes the company to buyback $12.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the credit services provider to purchase up to 2.5% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are generally a sign that the company's board believes its shares are undervalued.

Mastercard Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 7th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, January 9th will be paid a dividend of $0.76 per share. This is an increase from Mastercard's previous quarterly dividend of $0.66. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, January 9th. This represents a $3.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.58%. Mastercard's dividend payout ratio is 19.97%.

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.