Mastercard (NYSE:MA) had its price objective lifted by equities researchers at Royal Bank of Canada to $209.00 in a research report issued on Friday, The Fly reports. The brokerage presently has an “outperform” rating on the credit services provider’s stock. Royal Bank of Canada’s price target points to a potential upside of 22.54% from the company’s current price.
MA has been the topic of several other research reports. Barclays restated a “buy” rating and issued a $178.00 price objective (up previously from $170.00) on shares of Mastercard in a research note on Tuesday. Argus upgraded shares of Mastercard from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $200.00 price objective on the stock in a research note on Friday. Sanford C. Bernstein restated a “buy” rating and issued a $180.00 price objective (up previously from $166.00) on shares of Mastercard in a research note on Monday, December 11th. Mizuho restated a “hold” rating and issued a $140.00 price objective on shares of Mastercard in a research note on Thursday, October 12th. Finally, Oppenheimer raised their price objective on shares of Mastercard from $160.00 to $182.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 25th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating and twenty-nine have given a buy rating to the company. The company has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $176.54.
Shares of Mastercard (NYSE:MA) traded down $2.38 during trading on Friday, hitting $170.55. 6,485,938 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 3,050,000. The firm has a market capitalization of $180,560.00, a P/E ratio of 46.73, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.82 and a beta of 1.26. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.83, a quick ratio of 1.66 and a current ratio of 1.66. Mastercard has a twelve month low of $104.61 and a twelve month high of $177.11.
Mastercard declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a share buyback plan on Monday, December 4th that authorizes the company to buyback $4.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the credit services provider to repurchase shares of its stock through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are typically an indication that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.
In other Mastercard news, insider Edward Grunde Mclaughlin sold 17,167 shares of Mastercard stock in a transaction on Tuesday, January 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $151.81, for a total transaction of $2,606,122.27. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 47,901 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,271,850.81. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 0.30% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.
Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Signature Estate & Investment Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Mastercard by 2.9% in the fourth quarter. Signature Estate & Investment Advisors LLC now owns 126,491 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $19,146,000 after buying an additional 3,615 shares during the last quarter. Delaney Dennis R raised its holdings in shares of Mastercard by 40.1% in the fourth quarter. Delaney Dennis R now owns 20,591 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $3,117,000 after buying an additional 5,896 shares during the last quarter. Harvey Capital Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Mastercard by 33.8% in the fourth quarter. Harvey Capital Management Inc. now owns 8,030 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $1,215,000 after buying an additional 2,030 shares during the last quarter. Notis McConarty Edward raised its holdings in shares of Mastercard by 4.7% in the fourth quarter. Notis McConarty Edward now owns 41,030 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $6,211,000 after buying an additional 1,825 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Meeder Asset Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Mastercard by 13.2% in the fourth quarter. Meeder Asset Management Inc. now owns 19,485 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $2,949,000 after buying an additional 2,277 shares during the last quarter. 75.66% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.
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About Mastercard
MasterCard Incorporated is a technology company that connects consumers, financial institutions, merchants, governments and businesses across the world, enabling them to use electronic forms of payment. The Company operates through Payment Solutions segment. The Company allows user to make payments by creating a range of payment solutions and services using its brands, which include MasterCard, Maestro and Cirrus.
