Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) Stock Holdings Lifted by Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV

Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV raised its stake in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) by 9.0% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 245,305 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after buying an additional 20,162 shares during the period. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV’s holdings in Mastercard were worth $108,219,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Westend Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in Mastercard during the 1st quarter worth approximately $27,000. Palisade Asset Management LLC purchased a new position in Mastercard during the 1st quarter worth approximately $27,000. VitalStone Financial LLC grew its position in Mastercard by 300.0% during the 4th quarter. VitalStone Financial LLC now owns 60 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 45 shares in the last quarter. Scarborough Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Mastercard during the 4th quarter worth approximately $28,000. Finally, Beaird Harris Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Mastercard during the 4th quarter valued at $30,000. 97.28% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have recently commented on the stock. Argus upgraded shares of Mastercard to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Thursday, August 1st. Barclays boosted their price target on shares of Mastercard from $530.00 to $536.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, August 5th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on shares of Mastercard from $500.00 to $570.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 20th. TD Cowen boosted their price target on shares of Mastercard from $532.00 to $533.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, August 1st. Finally, Citigroup boosted their price target on shares of Mastercard from $528.00 to $538.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, August 1st. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-one have issued a buy rating and three have given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Mastercard presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $512.08.

Insider Activity

In other news, CFO J. Mehra Sachin sold 13,439 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $455.00, for a total transaction of $6,114,745.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 27,304 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $12,423,320. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. In other news, CFO J. Mehra Sachin sold 13,439 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $455.00, for a total transaction of $6,114,745.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 27,304 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $12,423,320. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CMO Venkata R. Madabhushi sold 4,685 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, September 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $493.10, for a total transaction of $2,310,173.50. Following the completion of the sale, the chief marketing officer now directly owns 17,118 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,440,885.80. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 725,152 shares of company stock valued at $334,186,128. Insiders own 0.10% of the company’s stock.

Mastercard Stock Up 0.7 %

Mastercard stock opened at $501.22 on Wednesday. The firm has a market cap of $465.94 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 39.84, a P/E/G ratio of 1.92 and a beta of 1.10. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.95, a current ratio of 1.14 and a quick ratio of 1.14. Mastercard Incorporated has a fifty-two week low of $359.77 and a fifty-two week high of $501.74. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $462.83 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $460.52.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, July 31st. The credit services provider reported $3.59 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.51 by $0.08. The firm had revenue of $6.96 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.85 billion. Mastercard had a net margin of 46.45% and a return on equity of 179.78%. As a group, analysts forecast that Mastercard Incorporated will post 14.29 earnings per share for the current year.

Mastercard Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 8th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, October 9th will be given a dividend of $0.66 per share. This represents a $2.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.53%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, October 9th. Mastercard’s dividend payout ratio is currently 20.99%.

Mastercard 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.