MasterCard’s Price Target Upgraded at Citigroup and Barclays (MA)

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Credit card processor MasterCard Incorporated (MA) saw its price target boosted at Citigroup and Barclays on Wednesday.

Citigroup raised its target on MA to $250, and boosted its earnings estimates for the stock to reflect higher prices and cost-cutting measures. The analyst currently rates the stock as a “Hold.”

In a separate upgrade, analysts at Barclays Capital raised their price target for MasterCard to $272 from a prior $266. The analyst also boosted its 2009 and 2010 earnings estimates for the company, and reiterated its “Overweight” rating.

MasterCard shares, which closed at $219.20 on Tuesday, rose $7.81, or +3.5%, in morning trading Wednesday.

The Bottom Line
We recently removed shares of MA from our “recommended” list back on Sept.30, when the stock was trading at $206.74. The company has a dividend yield of .27%, based on last night’s closing stock price of $219.20. The stock has near-term technical support in the $195-$200 price area. If the shares can rebound, we see near-term overhead resistance around the $225-$232 price levels. We would remain on the sidelines for now.

MasterCard Incorporated (MA) is not recommended at this time, holding a Dividend.com DARS™ Rating of 3.4 out of 5 stars.

Be sure to visit our complete recommended list of the Best Dividend Stocks, as well as a detailed explanation of our ratings system here.