Mastercard (NYSE:MA) Downgraded by Wall Street Zen to Hold

Mastercard (NYSE:MA) was downgraded by research analysts at Wall Street Zen from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a note issued to investors on Saturday.

Several other research firms have also issued reports on MA. UBS Group lifted their price objective on Mastercard from $660.00 to $670.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 3rd. Jefferies Financial Group reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Mastercard in a research note on Friday, June 6th. Citigroup lifted their price objective on Mastercard from $650.00 to $652.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, May 5th. Tigress Financial reissued a “strong-buy” rating on shares of Mastercard in a report on Monday, March 10th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $633.00 target price on shares of Mastercard in a research note on Wednesday, April 2nd. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-four have assigned a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $610.00.

Mastercard Price Performance

NYSE:MA opened at $561.50 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $511.92 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 40.42, a P/E/G ratio of 2.37 and a beta of 1.05. Mastercard has a 52-week low of $428.86 and a 52-week high of $594.71. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $555.17 and a 200 day moving average of $544.04. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.68, a quick ratio of 1.03 and a current ratio of 1.03.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 1st. The credit services provider reported $3.73 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.57 by $0.16. The company had revenue of $7.25 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.12 billion. Mastercard had a return on equity of 188.47% and a net margin of 45.71%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 14.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $3.31 earnings per share. On average, research analysts expect that Mastercard will post 15.91 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In other Mastercard news, CEO Michael Miebach sold 15,775 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $550.16, for a total transaction of $8,678,774.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 84,871 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $46,692,629.36. This represents a 15.67% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Craig Vosburg sold 9,428 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, June 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $588.18, for a total value of $5,545,361.04. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 58,451 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $34,379,709.18. The trade was a 13.89% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 46,686 shares of company stock valued at $26,430,428. Insiders own 0.09% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. NewSquare Capital LLC bought a new position in Mastercard during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Flaharty Asset Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Mastercard during the 1st quarter worth approximately $27,000. Marshall Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Mastercard during the 4th quarter worth approximately $30,000. Measured Risk Portfolios Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Mastercard during the 4th quarter worth approximately $31,000. Finally, Keystone Global Partners LLC purchased a new position in shares of Mastercard during the 1st quarter worth approximately $31,000. Institutional investors own 97.28% of the company’s stock.

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.