Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) Stake Raised by Sterling Investment Counsel LLC

Sterling Investment Counsel LLC grew its holdings in shares of Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) by 37.8% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,609 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after buying an additional 441 shares during the period. Sterling Investment Counsel LLC’s holdings in Mastercard were worth $795,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the business. McLean Asset Management Corp lifted its stake in Mastercard by 1.3% in the third quarter. McLean Asset Management Corp now owns 1,677 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $834,000 after acquiring an additional 21 shares during the last quarter. Quilter Plc lifted its stake in Mastercard by 2.8% in the second quarter. Quilter Plc now owns 801 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $353,000 after acquiring an additional 22 shares during the last quarter. Cornerstone Wealth Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Mastercard by 0.5% during the 3rd quarter. Cornerstone Wealth Management LLC now owns 4,351 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $2,148,000 after buying an additional 22 shares during the last quarter. Atticus Wealth Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Mastercard by 1.3% during the 1st quarter. Atticus Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,734 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $835,000 after buying an additional 23 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Strategic Advisors LLC raised its stake in Mastercard by 0.3% in the 1st quarter. Strategic Advisors LLC now owns 6,881 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $3,314,000 after purchasing an additional 23 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 97.28% of the company’s stock.

Mastercard Price Performance

MA remained flat at $513.02 during trading on Wednesday. 329,874 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,428,619. The firm has a market capitalization of $476.91 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 40.86, a P/E/G ratio of 2.22 and a beta of 1.10. Mastercard Incorporated has a one year low of $359.77 and a one year high of $518.82. The company has a current ratio of 1.14, a quick ratio of 1.14 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.95. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $489.16 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $464.58.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 31st. The credit services provider reported $3.59 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.51 by $0.08. Mastercard had a net margin of 46.45% and a return on equity of 179.78%. The company had revenue of $6.96 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.85 billion. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Mastercard Incorporated will post 14.3 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Mastercard Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 8th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, October 9th will be given a $0.66 dividend. This represents a $2.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.51%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, October 9th. Mastercard’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 20.99%.

Insider Transactions at Mastercard

In other news, CFO J. Mehra Sachin sold 13,439 shares of the 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 transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 27,304 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $12,423,320. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. In other news, CMO Venkata R. Madabhushi sold 4,685 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, September 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $489.86, for a total value of $2,294,994.10. Following the completion of the sale, the chief marketing officer now owns 15,031 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,363,085.66. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, 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 transaction of $6,114,745.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 27,304 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $12,423,320. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 340,809 shares of company stock valued at $159,610,703 in the last quarter. Insiders own 0.10% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have weighed in on MA shares. Barclays lifted their price objective on shares of Mastercard from $536.00 to $576.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 10th. Piper Sandler raised their target price on shares of Mastercard from $531.00 to $536.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, August 2nd. Citigroup raised their target price on shares of Mastercard from $528.00 to $538.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, August 1st. Compass Point assumed coverage on shares of Mastercard in a report on Wednesday, September 4th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $525.00 price target on the stock. Finally, KeyCorp lifted their price target on shares of Mastercard from $490.00 to $515.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, August 1st. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eighteen have given a buy rating and three have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Mastercard currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $525.68.

Mastercard Company 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.