Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) Given Consensus Recommendation of “Buy” by Brokerages

Shares of Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) have received a consensus rating of “Buy” from the thirty-one analysts that are presently covering the company, Marketbeat.com reports. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, twenty-five have issued a buy recommendation and five have given a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average 12 month target price among brokers that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $666.6429.

MA has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Truist Financial boosted their price objective on shares of Mastercard from $554.00 to $633.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 5th. KeyCorp boosted their target price on Mastercard from $670.00 to $680.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, July 31st. Cantor Fitzgerald boosted their price objective on Mastercard from $650.00 to $695.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, August 3rd. Wolfe Research upped their target price on shares of Mastercard from $680.00 to $740.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 25th. Finally, TD Cowen raised their target price on shares of Mastercard from $664.00 to $667.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, July 31st.

Mastercard Trading Down 0.4%

Shares of Mastercard stock opened at $585.70 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $513.08 billion, a P/E ratio of 32.22, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.69 and a beta of 0.74. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $556.91 and a 200 day simple moving average of $521.06. The company has a quick ratio of 1.06, a current ratio of 1.06 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.96. Mastercard has a 12-month low of $464.52 and a 12-month high of $601.62.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 30th. The credit services provider reported $5.04 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $4.77 by $0.27. The business had revenue of $9.28 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $9.08 billion. Mastercard had a net margin of 46.34% and a return on equity of 239.99%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 14.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $4.15 EPS. Research analysts expect that Mastercard will post 19.86 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Mastercard Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 7th. Investors of record on Thursday, July 9th were paid a dividend of $0.87 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, July 9th. This represents a $3.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.6%. Mastercard’s payout ratio is 19.14%.

More Mastercard News

Here are the key news stories impacting Mastercard this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Mastercard’s value-added services business generated 20% revenue growth in the second quarter, supported by cybersecurity, artificial intelligence and digital solutions. Continued cross-selling and demand for these services could help sustain growth beyond the company’s core payment network. Can Mastercard’s VAS Business Sustain Its Double-Digit Growth?
• Positive Sentiment: Mastercard launched the first cohort in its Start Path program dedicated to agentic commerce, admitting 22 startups developing infrastructure for AI agents that can transact autonomously. The initiative positions Mastercard to participate in a potentially important new payments channel. Mastercard Start Path Launches Inaugural Agentic Commerce Cohort
• Positive Sentiment: Mastercard and partners including Cloudflare and Olas are developing payment rails for agentic commerce, reinforcing the company’s strategy of integrating AI into its global network. Agentic Commerce Is Here As Mastercard, Cloudflare and Olas Build Rails
• Positive Sentiment: Analyst commentary continues to view Mastercard as resilient because of its payment-network duopoly and growing AI capabilities, although elevated valuation remains a consideration for investors. Mastercard Stays Resilient with AI Integration and Payment Duopoly
• Neutral Sentiment: Mastercard is offering deals with Klook for U.S. travelers visiting Pacific destinations, a promotion that may support transaction activity and customer engagement but is unlikely to materially affect near-term earnings. Mastercard and Klook Launch Deals for Pacific-Bound U.S. Travelers
• Negative Sentiment: Chief Financial Officer Sachin Mehra sold 3,266 shares worth approximately $1.9 million, reducing his direct holdings by 8.18%. The transaction occurred under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 plan, which makes it a weaker bearish signal than a discretionary sale but may still weigh on sentiment. SEC Insider Transaction Filing

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Linda Kirkpatrick sold 4,280 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $570.31, for a total value of $2,440,926.80. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 31,179 shares in the company, valued at $17,781,695.49. This trade represents a 12.07% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CEO Michael Miebach sold 16,628 shares of Mastercard stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, July 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $567.68, for a total transaction of $9,439,383.04. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 115,921 shares in the company, valued at $65,806,033.28. The trade was a 12.54% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders have sold a total of 74,623 shares of company stock valued at $42,544,606 over the last 90 days. 0.09% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of MA. Riggs Asset Managment Co. Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Mastercard by 20.0% during the 2nd quarter. Riggs Asset Managment Co. Inc. now owns 108 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $61,000 after buying an additional 18 shares during the last quarter. Castle Rock Wealth Management LLC raised its holdings in Mastercard by 2.8% during the fourth quarter. Castle Rock Wealth Management LLC now owns 695 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $387,000 after acquiring an additional 19 shares in the last quarter. Athena Wealth Management LLC grew its stake in Mastercard by 3.8% in the second quarter. Athena Wealth Management LLC now owns 514 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $264,000 after purchasing an additional 19 shares in the last quarter. Novem Group boosted its holdings in shares of Mastercard by 0.4% in the 2nd quarter. Novem Group now owns 4,680 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $2,404,000 after buying an additional 19 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Vista Capital Partners Inc. grew its stake in shares of Mastercard by 4.5% in the second quarter. Vista Capital Partners Inc. now owns 444 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $228,000 after buying an additional 19 shares in the last quarter. 97.28% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

About Mastercard

Mastercard Incorporated is a global payments technology company that operates a network connecting consumers, financial institutions, merchants, governments and businesses in more than 200 countries and territories. The company facilitates electronic payments and transaction processing for credit, debit and prepaid card products carrying the Mastercard brand, while also providing a range of payment-related services to issuers, acquirers and merchants. Its technology and network enable authorization, clearing and settlement of payments and support a broad set of use cases including point-of-sale, e-commerce and mobile payments.

Beyond core transaction processing, Mastercard offers a suite of value-added services such as fraud and risk management, identity and authentication tools, tokenization and digital wallet support, cross-border and commercial payment solutions, and data analytics and consulting services for merchants and financial partners.