Mastercard (NYSE:MA)‘s stock had its “overweight” rating reissued by investment analysts at Wells Fargo & Co in a research note issued to investors on Monday, The Fly reports. They presently have a $336.00 price objective on the credit services provider’s stock, up from their prior price objective of $317.00. Wells Fargo & Co‘s price target indicates a potential upside of 11.84% from the stock’s current price.
MA has been the subject of a number of other research reports. lowered shares of Mastercard from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 2nd. Credit Suisse Group set a $292.00 price target on Mastercard and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 10th. Tigress Financial restated a “buy” rating on shares of Mastercard in a research report on Monday, December 23rd. Guggenheim set a $305.00 price objective on Mastercard and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Finally, Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on Mastercard from $317.00 to $338.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, December 16th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-four have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. The stock presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $310.32.
Mastercard (NYSE:MA) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, October 29th. The credit services provider reported $2.15 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the Zacks’ consensus estimate of $2.01 by $0.14. Mastercard had a net margin of 42.50% and a return on equity of 146.92%. The company had revenue of $4.47 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.41 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $1.78 earnings per share. Mastercard’s quarterly revenue was up 14.6% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Mastercard will post 7.69 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.
Mastercard announced that its board has approved a share buyback program on Tuesday, December 3rd that allows the company to buyback $8.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the credit services provider to reacquire up to 2.7% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are usually an indication that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.
In other news, insider Michael Miebach sold 4,205 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, December 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $295.10, for a total transaction of $1,240,895.50. Following the sale, the insider now owns 16,983 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,011,683.30. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at . Also, Director Richard Haythornthwaite sold 5,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $280.00, for a total value of $1,400,000.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 32,119 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,993,320. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 99,714 shares of company stock worth $27,514,458. 3.70% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.
Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Cox Capital Mgt LLC grew its holdings in shares of Mastercard by 0.7% during the fourth quarter. Cox Capital Mgt LLC now owns 8,760 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $2,616,000 after buying an additional 58 shares in the last quarter. Evoke Wealth LLC bought a new stake in Mastercard during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $1,033,000. Nomura Holdings Inc. boosted its position in Mastercard by 957.5% during the 3rd quarter. Nomura Holdings Inc. now owns 521,174 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $141,230,000 after acquiring an additional 581,955 shares in the last quarter. Resources Management Corp CT ADV bought a new stake in Mastercard during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $547,000. Finally, JS Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in Mastercard during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $3,259,000. 73.84% 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. It facilitates the processing of payment transactions, including authorization, clearing, and settlement, as well as delivers related products and services.
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