Stock Repurchase Program Declared by Mastercard (NYSE:MA)
Mastercard (NYSE:MA – Get Free Report) declared that its board has approved a stock buyback plan on Tuesday, December 5th, RTT News reports. The company plans to repurchase $11.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization allows the credit services provider to repurchase up to 2.9% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are generally a sign that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.
Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth
Several research analysts have recently commented on the stock. Raymond James decreased their price target on shares of Mastercard from $453.00 to $452.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Friday, October 27th. Royal Bank of Canada decreased their price target on shares of Mastercard from $441.00 to $432.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Friday, October 27th. HSBC began coverage on shares of Mastercard in a research note on Friday, October 13th. They set a “hold” rating and a $424.00 target price for the company. Barclays reduced their target price on shares of Mastercard from $479.00 to $470.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, October 30th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group boosted their target price on shares of Mastercard from $460.00 to $475.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, September 15th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and nineteen have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $450.23.
View Our Latest Research Report on Mastercard
Mastercard Stock Up 0.4 %
MA stock traded up $1.69 during midday trading on Wednesday, reaching $410.38. The company had a trading volume of 2,192,814 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,643,608. Mastercard has a 1 year low of $336.43 and a 1 year high of $418.60. The company has a current ratio of 1.17, a quick ratio of 1.17 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.24. The company has a market capitalization of $384.84 billion, a P/E ratio of 35.75, a PEG ratio of 1.88 and a beta of 1.08. The company has a 50 day moving average of $395.48 and a two-hundred day moving average of $393.99.
Mastercard (NYSE:MA – Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, October 26th. The credit services provider reported $3.39 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.21 by $0.18. Mastercard had a net margin of 44.85% and a return on equity of 188.83%. The company had revenue of $6.53 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.53 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $2.68 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 13.5% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts expect that Mastercard will post 12.16 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.
Mastercard Increases Dividend
The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 9th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, January 9th will be paid a dividend of $0.66 per share. This is a positive change from Mastercard’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.57. This represents a $2.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.64%. Mastercard’s dividend payout ratio is 19.86%.
Insider Transactions at Mastercard
In other news, insider Ajay Bhalla sold 4,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, September 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $413.13, for a total transaction of $1,652,520.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 6,235 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,575,865.55. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. In related news, insider Timothy H. Murphy sold 7,419 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, September 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $397.28, for a total value of $2,947,420.32. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 39,007 shares in the company, valued at approximately $15,496,700.96. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider Ajay Bhalla sold 4,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, September 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $413.13, for a total transaction of $1,652,520.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 6,235 shares in the company, valued at $2,575,865.55. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 520,776 shares of company stock worth $200,842,951 in the last 90 days. 0.13% of the stock is owned by insiders.
Mastercard Company Profile (Get Free Report)
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 other payment-related products and services.
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Original: MarketBeat News Feed: Stock Repurchase Program Declared by Mastercard (NYSE:MA)