Mastercard Inc (NYSE:MA) – Investment analysts at Piper Jaffray Companies dropped their Q2 2019 earnings per share (EPS) estimates for Mastercard in a research report issued to clients and investors on Monday, May 6th. Piper Jaffray Companies analyst J. Deleeuw now anticipates that the credit services provider will post earnings per share of $1.84 for the quarter, down from their prior estimate of $1.90. Piper Jaffray Companies also issued estimates for Mastercard’s Q3 2019 earnings at $2.16 EPS.
Mastercard (NYSE:MA) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 30th. The credit services provider reported $1.78 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the Zacks’ consensus estimate of $1.66 by $0.12. Mastercard had a return on equity of 129.95% and a net margin of 40.82%. The company had revenue of $3.89 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.86 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.50 earnings per share. Mastercard’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.6% on a year-over-year basis.
A number of other research analysts also recently issued reports on the company. Jefferies Financial Group started coverage on Mastercard in a report on Monday, January 28th. They issued a “buy” rating for the company. Barclays reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Mastercard in a report on Sunday, February 3rd. UBS Group raised Mastercard from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their price target for the company from $206.00 to $226.00 in a report on Wednesday, January 9th. Bank of America downgraded Mastercard from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and decreased their price target for the company from $230.00 to $207.00 in a report on Tuesday, January 8th. Finally, Oppenheimer boosted their price target on Mastercard from $242.00 to $259.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 17th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-four have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. The stock presently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $247.67.
Shares of NYSE:MA opened at $245.06 on Wednesday. Mastercard has a 12-month low of $171.89 and a 12-month high of $257.43. The company has a market capitalization of $254.37 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 37.76, a P/E/G ratio of 1.96 and a beta of 1.15. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.12, a current ratio of 1.40 and a quick ratio of 1.41.
In related news, CEO Ajay Banga sold 252,600 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $250.92, for a total transaction of $63,382,392.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 427,638 shares in the company, valued at $107,302,926.96. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Michael Miebach sold 2,711 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, April 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $245.00, for a total value of $664,195.00. Following the sale, the insider now owns 20,492 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,020,540. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 381,530 shares of company stock valued at $93,705,711 over the last 90 days. Company insiders own 0.32% of the company’s stock.
Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of MA. Clarius Group LLC grew its holdings in Mastercard by 45.9% in the 4th quarter. Clarius Group LLC now owns 2,355 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $444,000 after buying an additional 741 shares in the last quarter. YorkBridge Wealth Partners LLC grew its holdings in Mastercard by 1.0% in the 4th quarter. YorkBridge Wealth Partners LLC now owns 9,858 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $1,860,000 after buying an additional 101 shares in the last quarter. FTB Advisors Inc. grew its holdings in Mastercard by 5.1% in the 4th quarter. FTB Advisors Inc. now owns 1,271 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $239,000 after buying an additional 62 shares in the last quarter. Fort L.P. grew its holdings in Mastercard by 73.5% in the 4th quarter. Fort L.P. now owns 8,274 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $1,561,000 after buying an additional 3,506 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Epoch Investment Partners Inc. grew its holdings in Mastercard by 14.1% in the 4th quarter. Epoch Investment Partners Inc. now owns 42,036 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $7,930,000 after buying an additional 5,194 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 75.59% 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. It facilitates the processing of payment transactions, including authorization, clearing, and settlement, as well as delivers related products and services.