Empowered Funds LLC Boosts Stock Position in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA)

Empowered Funds LLC boosted its position in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) by 4.9% in the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 29,209 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,357 shares during the period. Empowered Funds LLC’s holdings in Mastercard were worth $14,423,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of MA. Highline Wealth Partners LLC purchased a new position in shares of Mastercard during the third quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL acquired a new position in Mastercard in the 2nd quarter valued at $34,000. First Personal Financial Services acquired a new position in Mastercard in the 3rd quarter valued at $39,000. Fairway Wealth LLC purchased a new position in shares of Mastercard during the 2nd quarter worth $35,000. Finally, Lowe Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Mastercard by 74.0% during the third quarter. Lowe Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 87 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $43,000 after purchasing an additional 37 shares during the last quarter. 97.28% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Transactions at Mastercard

In other news, 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 sale, the chief marketing officer now directly owns 17,118 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,440,885.80. This represents a 21.49 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, major shareholder Foundation Mastercard sold 90,000 shares of Mastercard stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $468.80, for a total value of $42,192,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 91,649,308 shares in the company, valued at $42,965,195,590.40. This represents a 0.10 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 208,370 shares of company stock valued at $97,749,218 in the last quarter. Insiders own 0.10% of the company’s stock.

Mastercard Stock Up 0.2 %

MA stock opened at $521.39 on Friday. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $502.32 and its two-hundred day moving average is $470.24. The company has a current ratio of 1.29, a quick ratio of 1.29 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.36. The company has a market capitalization of $478.55 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 39.36, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.28 and a beta of 1.10. Mastercard Incorporated has a 52 week low of $395.55 and a 52 week high of $534.03.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 31st. The credit services provider reported $3.89 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.73 by $0.16. Mastercard had a return on equity of 178.27% and a net margin of 45.26%. The company had revenue of $7.37 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.27 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $3.39 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 12.8% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts forecast that Mastercard Incorporated will post 14.45 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Mastercard Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 8th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, October 9th were given a dividend of $0.66 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, October 9th. This represents a $2.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.51%. Mastercard’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 19.97%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

MA has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. UBS Group increased their target price on Mastercard from $590.00 to $610.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday. TD Cowen raised their target price on shares of Mastercard from $532.00 to $533.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 1st. Robert W. Baird upped their price target on shares of Mastercard from $545.00 to $575.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 16th. Oppenheimer assumed coverage on shares of Mastercard in a research note on Tuesday, October 1st. They set an “outperform” rating and a $591.00 price target on the stock. Finally, William Blair raised shares of Mastercard to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 31st. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-one have assigned a buy rating and three have given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Mastercard currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $547.80.

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.