William Blair Reiterates Outperform Rating for Mastercard (NYSE:MA)

William Blair restated their outperform rating on shares of Mastercard (NYSE:MA - Free Report) in a research note released on Monday,RTT News reports.

MA has been the subject of a number of other reports. Macquarie upped their price objective on Mastercard from $505.00 to $565.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday, November 1st. KeyCorp raised their price objective on Mastercard from $515.00 to $580.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, November 1st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their target price on Mastercard from $593.00 to $580.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Friday, November 1st. Compass Point started coverage on shares of Mastercard in a report on Wednesday, September 4th. They issued a "neutral" rating and a $525.00 price target on the stock. Finally, Mizuho lifted their price target on shares of Mastercard from $496.00 to $532.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Friday, November 1st. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-two have given a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Mastercard presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $549.16.

Mastercard Trading Up 1.1 %

Shares of Mastercard stock traded up $5.74 during mid-day trading on Monday, hitting $526.60. 4,503,001 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,467,999. The stock has a market capitalization of $483.33 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 39.83, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.32 and a beta of 1.10. Mastercard has a twelve month low of $404.32 and a twelve month high of $534.03. The company has a current ratio of 1.29, a quick ratio of 1.29 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.36. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $507.49 and a 200 day simple moving average of $474.33.

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 for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.73 by $0.16. Mastercard had a return on equity of 178.27% and a net margin of 45.26%. The company had revenue of $7.37 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.27 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $3.39 EPS. Mastercard's revenue was up 12.8% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts forecast that Mastercard will post 14.47 EPS for the current year.

Mastercard Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 8th. Investors of record on Wednesday, October 9th were paid a dividend of $0.66 per share. This represents a $2.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.50%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, October 9th. Mastercard's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 19.97%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CMO Venkata R. Madabhushi sold 4,685 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 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 is accessible through this hyperlink. 0.10% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in MA. Synovus Financial Corp increased its stake in shares of Mastercard by 13.2% in the third quarter. Synovus Financial Corp now owns 41,645 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $20,563,000 after purchasing an additional 4,843 shares during the period. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB grew its holdings in Mastercard by 30.3% in the 3rd quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB now owns 75,960 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $37,509,000 after buying an additional 17,648 shares in the last quarter. Arvest Bank Trust Division acquired a new stake in Mastercard in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $460,000. World Investment Advisors LLC raised its stake in Mastercard by 512.1% during the 3rd quarter. World Investment Advisors LLC now owns 18,516 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $9,143,000 after acquiring an additional 15,491 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Sanctuary Advisors LLC boosted its position in Mastercard by 1.0% during the 3rd quarter. Sanctuary Advisors LLC now owns 86,327 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $44,964,000 after acquiring an additional 853 shares during the period. 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.