CWS Financial Advisors LLC Purchases 119 Shares of Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA)

CWS Financial Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) by 11.1% during the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 1,190 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after buying an additional 119 shares during the quarter. CWS Financial Advisors LLC’s holdings in Mastercard were worth $588,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. FMR LLC increased its stake in Mastercard by 3.4% during the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 21,355,081 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $10,545,139,000 after acquiring an additional 700,769 shares during the period. International Assets Investment Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Mastercard by 120,665.3% in the 3rd quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 8,041,758 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $3,971,020,000 after purchasing an additional 8,035,099 shares during the period. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC grew its stake in shares of Mastercard by 1.0% in the 3rd quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 6,308,684 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $3,115,228,000 after purchasing an additional 64,456 shares during the period. Bank of Montreal Can grew its stake in shares of Mastercard by 51.7% in the 3rd quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 5,765,714 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $2,846,187,000 after purchasing an additional 1,965,782 shares during the period. Finally, Ameriprise Financial Inc. grew its stake in shares of Mastercard by 1.4% in the 2nd quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 5,082,729 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $2,241,297,000 after purchasing an additional 71,569 shares during the period. 97.28% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Mastercard Stock Up 0.7 %

NYSE:MA opened at $532.38 on Friday. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $509.57 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $475.63. Mastercard Incorporated has a 52-week low of $404.32 and a 52-week high of $534.03. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.36, a quick ratio of 1.29 and a current ratio of 1.29. The company has a market cap of $488.63 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 40.27, a P/E/G ratio of 2.37 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 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.73 by $0.16. The company had revenue of $7.37 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $7.27 billion. Mastercard had a net margin of 45.26% and a return on equity of 178.27%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 12.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $3.39 EPS. On average, analysts anticipate that Mastercard Incorporated will post 14.47 EPS for the current year.

Mastercard Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 8th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, October 9th were given a dividend of $0.66 per share. This represents a $2.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.50%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, October 9th. Mastercard’s payout ratio is 19.97%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Mastercard

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 sale, the chief marketing officer now owns 17,118 shares in the company, valued at $8,440,885.80. This represents a 21.49 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Corporate insiders own 0.10% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

MA has been the topic of several analyst reports. Citigroup upped their price objective on Mastercard from $566.00 to $572.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, November 4th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upped their price objective on Mastercard from $510.00 to $580.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on Mastercard from $544.00 to $564.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 14th. Mizuho upped their price objective on Mastercard from $496.00 to $532.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Finally, Compass Point started coverage on Mastercard in a report on Wednesday, September 4th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $525.00 target price on the stock. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-two have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $549.16.

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.