Mastercard (NYSE:MA) Stock Price Target Raised at Wells Fargo & Company

Mastercard (NYSE:MA – Get Free Report) had its price objective hoisted by equities researchers at Wells Fargo & Company from $668.00 to $731.00 in a research note issued on Friday, Benzinga reports. The firm currently has an “overweight” rating on the credit services provider’s stock. Wells Fargo & Company‘s price target suggests a potential upside of 14.41% from the stock’s previous close.

A number of other brokerages have also weighed in on MA. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Mastercard from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a research report on Friday, October 2nd. Argus raised their target price on shares of Mastercard from $640.00 to $694.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on shares of Mastercard from $655.00 to $720.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, July 31st. BNP Paribas Exane boosted their price objective on Mastercard from $680.00 to $713.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, August 7th. Finally, Susquehanna increased their price target on shares of Mastercard from $665.00 to $740.00 and gave the stock a “positive” rating in a research note on Friday. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-one have given a Buy rating, one has assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Mastercard presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $695.15.

Check Out Our Latest Stock Analysis on Mastercard

Mastercard Stock Performance

Shares of MA traded up $3.21 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $638.91. 2,331,084 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,499,780. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $585.50 and its 200-day simple moving average is $535.85. 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 52 week low of $464.52 and a 52 week high of $644.24. The firm has a market cap of $559.69 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 35.15, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.74 and a beta of 0.76.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA – Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, October 29th. The credit services provider reported $5.31 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $5.17 by $0.14. Mastercard had a return on equity of 239.99% and a net margin of 46.34%. The business had revenue of $9.81 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $9.66 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $4.38 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 14.0% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts expect that Mastercard will post 19.91 EPS for the current year.

Insider Transactions at Mastercard

In other news, insider Sachin Mehra sold 3,266 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, September 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $584.00, for a total value of $1,907,344.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 36,650 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $21,403,600. The trade was a 8.18% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, insider Linda Kirkpatrick sold 4,280 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $570.31, for a total transaction of $2,440,926.80. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 31,179 shares in the company, valued at approximately $17,781,695.49. This represents a 12.07% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. In the last three months, insiders have sold 56,048 shares of company stock worth $32,527,203. Insiders own 0.09% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Mastercard

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in MA. Third View Private Wealth LLC grew its holdings in shares of Mastercard by 8.4% in the third quarter. Third View Private Wealth LLC now owns 3,402 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $1,876,000 after purchasing an additional 263 shares in the last quarter. Provenance Wealth Advisors LLC grew its stake in Mastercard by 708.8% during the 3rd quarter. Provenance Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 2,386 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $1,316,000 after purchasing an additional 2,091 shares in the last quarter. Hughes Financial Services LLC increased its holdings in Mastercard by 38.6% during the 3rd quarter. Hughes Financial Services LLC now owns 158 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $87,000 after purchasing an additional 44 shares during the period. Lyell Wealth Management LP increased its holdings in Mastercard by 0.4% during the 3rd quarter. Lyell Wealth Management LP now owns 19,700 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $10,864,000 after purchasing an additional 71 shares during the period. Finally, Associated Banc Corp acquired a new stake in Mastercard in the 3rd quarter valued at about $30,524,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 97.28% of the company’s stock.

Mastercard News Roundup

Here are the key news stories impacting Mastercard this week:

  • Positive Sentiment: Analysts raised price targets: Royal Bank of Canada lifted its target to $742 and maintained an “outperform” rating; Barclays raised its target to $700 with an “overweight” rating; Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased its target to $750; and Susquehanna raised its target to $740. The revisions imply roughly 10%–18% potential upside from recent levels. Royal Bank of Canada price target article
  • Positive Sentiment: Q3 results exceeded expectations: Adjusted earnings per share increased 21% year over year to $5.31, above the $5.17 consensus, while revenue rose 14% to $9.81 billion, topping estimates of approximately $9.66 billion. Net income increased 18% to $4.6 billion. Reuters Mastercard earnings article
  • Positive Sentiment: Payment trends remained healthy: Purchase volume rose 9%, switched transactions increased 9%, and cross-border volume grew 11% on a local-currency basis. Value-added services and solutions revenue advanced 19%, led by fraud prevention, data and marketing offerings. Mastercard Q3 growth article
  • Positive Sentiment: Long-term growth initiatives are attracting investor interest: Mastercard highlighted artificial-intelligence commerce, tokenized and “agentic” payments, stablecoins and expanded digital-payment partnerships, including Google Pay availability in Nigeria. These initiatives could diversify growth beyond traditional card transactions. Mastercard AI and stablecoin article
  • Neutral Sentiment: Mastercard’s adjusted operating margin reached 60.5%, and the company repurchased 5.3 million shares. However, its valuation remains elevated at about 35 times earnings, increasing sensitivity to any slowdown in payment volumes or services growth.
  • Negative Sentiment: Investors continue to face legal and financial risks. A proposed £5 billion UK collective lawsuit alleges that Mastercard’s interchange fees harmed merchants. Separately, operating cash flow declined 6% over the first nine months, while buybacks and dividends exceeded operating cash flow and debt increased by roughly $4.9 billion. Mastercard UK lawsuit article

Mastercard Company Profile

(Get Free Report)

Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE: MA) is a global payments technology company that operates a network connecting consumers, financial institutions, merchants, governments and businesses. The company facilitates electronic payments and provides technology that supports transactions conducted through credit, debit, prepaid and commercial payment products.

In addition to operating its payments network, Mastercard offers services in areas such as payment security, fraud prevention, authentication, cybersecurity, data and analytics, loyalty programs, digital identity and open banking.

See Also

Analyst Recommendations for Mastercard (NYSE:MA)

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