Stephens Inc. AR Acquires 2,033 Shares of Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA)

Stephens Inc. AR lifted its holdings in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) by 2.3% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 89,267 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 2,033 shares during the quarter. Stephens Inc. AR’s holdings in Mastercard were worth $44,080,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in MA. Highline Wealth Partners LLC bought a new stake in Mastercard during the 3rd quarter valued at $25,000. Palisade Asset Management LLC bought a new stake in Mastercard during the 1st quarter valued at $27,000. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL bought a new stake in Mastercard during the 2nd quarter valued at $34,000. Fairway Wealth LLC bought a new stake in Mastercard during the 2nd quarter valued at $35,000. Finally, Lowe Wealth Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Mastercard by 74.0% during the 3rd quarter. Lowe Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 87 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $43,000 after buying an additional 37 shares during the last quarter. 97.28% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on MA shares. Royal Bank of Canada upped their price target on shares of Mastercard from $500.00 to $526.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, August 1st. Compass Point initiated coverage on shares of Mastercard in a report on Wednesday, September 4th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $525.00 price objective for the company. BNP Paribas lowered shares of Mastercard from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $470.00 price objective for the company. in a report on Tuesday, September 3rd. Oppenheimer initiated coverage on shares of Mastercard in a report on Tuesday, October 1st. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $591.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Bank of America upped their price objective on shares of Mastercard from $480.00 to $509.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, September 17th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eighteen have assigned a buy rating and three have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $527.00.

Insider Activity

In related news, CMO Venkata R. Madabhushi sold 4,685 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, September 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $493.10, for a total value of $2,310,173.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief marketing officer now owns 17,118 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,440,885.80. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. In related news, CFO J. Mehra Sachin sold 13,439 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, August 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $455.00, for a total value 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 approximately $12,423,320. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CMO Venkata R. Madabhushi sold 4,685 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, September 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $493.10, for a total transaction of $2,310,173.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief marketing officer now directly owns 17,118 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,440,885.80. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 340,809 shares of company stock valued at $159,610,703 in the last 90 days. Company insiders own 0.10% of the company’s stock.

Mastercard Trading Down 2.8 %

NYSE:MA opened at $499.08 on Friday. Mastercard Incorporated has a 52 week low of $373.11 and a 52 week high of $527.90. The company has a quick ratio of 1.14, a current ratio of 1.14 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.95. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $494.93 and its 200-day moving average price is $466.50. The stock has a market cap of $461.07 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 38.16, a PEG ratio of 2.27 and a beta of 1.10.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The credit services provider reported $3.89 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.73 by $0.16. The company had revenue of $7.37 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $7.27 billion. Mastercard had a net margin of 46.45% and a return on equity of 179.78%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 12.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $3.39 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Mastercard Incorporated will post 14.33 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Mastercard Announces Dividend

The firm 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 payout ratio is 20.18%.

About Mastercard

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.