JPMorgan Chase & Co. Issues Positive Forecast for Mastercard (NYSE:MA) Stock Price

Mastercard (NYSE:MA) had its price objective lifted by equities researchers at JPMorgan Chase & Co. from $590.00 to $610.00 in a research report issued to clients and investors on Friday,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has an “overweight” rating on the credit services provider’s stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co.‘s target price points to a potential upside of 9.79% from the company’s previous close.

Other equities analysts also recently issued research reports about the stock. Piper Sandler reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $635.00 price target (up previously from $591.00) on shares of Mastercard in a report on Friday. William Blair restated an “outperform” rating on shares of Mastercard in a research report on Friday. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upped their price objective on Mastercard from $510.00 to $580.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, November 1st. Monness Crespi & Hardt upgraded Mastercard from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $640.00 price objective on the stock in a research report on Friday. Finally, UBS Group upped their price objective on Mastercard from $590.00 to $610.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 14th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-three have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Mastercard has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $595.64.

Mastercard Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:MA opened at $555.63 on Friday. Mastercard has a twelve month low of $428.86 and a twelve month high of $576.94. The company’s 50 day moving average is $528.28 and its 200 day moving average is $501.03. 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 market cap of $509.97 billion, a PE ratio of 42.03, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.17 and a beta of 1.10.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The credit services provider reported $3.82 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.71 by $0.11. Mastercard had a net margin of 45.26% and a return on equity of 178.27%. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Mastercard will post 14.47 EPS for the current year.

Mastercard declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock repurchase plan on Tuesday, December 17th that authorizes the company to repurchase $12.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the credit services provider to buy up to 2.5% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are often a sign that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Mastercard

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Temasek Holdings Private Ltd lifted its stake in Mastercard by 2.3% during the third quarter. Temasek Holdings Private Ltd now owns 2,805,554 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $1,385,383,000 after purchasing an additional 62,891 shares during the last quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB lifted its stake in Mastercard by 15.6% during the fourth quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 2,510,756 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $1,325,353,000 after purchasing an additional 337,905 shares during the last quarter. Cardano Risk Management B.V. lifted its stake in Mastercard by 2.7% during the fourth quarter. Cardano Risk Management B.V. now owns 368,690 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $194,141,000 after purchasing an additional 9,611 shares during the last quarter. Sarasin & Partners LLP lifted its stake in Mastercard by 4.7% during the third quarter. Sarasin & Partners LLP now owns 831,942 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $410,813,000 after purchasing an additional 37,486 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its stake in Mastercard by 2.0% during the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 5,010,430 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $2,474,151,000 after purchasing an additional 100,550 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other 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.