Strategy Asset Managers LLC Increases Holdings in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA)

Strategy Asset Managers LLC grew its holdings in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) by 17.8% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 892 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 135 shares during the quarter. Strategy Asset Managers LLC’s holdings in Mastercard were worth $440,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. International Assets Investment Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Mastercard by 120,665.3% during the third quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 8,041,758 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $3,971,020,000 after purchasing an additional 8,035,099 shares during the last quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. boosted its position 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. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board grew its stake in Mastercard by 2.7% during the 2nd quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board now owns 4,327,168 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $1,908,973,000 after buying an additional 113,238 shares during the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. increased its position in Mastercard by 0.9% during the second quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 4,250,760 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $1,875,266,000 after buying an additional 38,380 shares during the period. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its stake in Mastercard by 6.0% in the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 3,986,604 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $1,758,773,000 after buying an additional 227,111 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 97.28% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Mastercard

In other news, CMO Venkata R. Madabhushi sold 4,685 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the chief marketing officer now directly owns 17,118 shares in the company, valued at $8,440,885.80. This represents a 21.49 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 0.10% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Mastercard Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:MA opened at $512.54 on Thursday. The firm has a market capitalization of $470.43 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 38.77, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.32 and a beta of 1.10. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.36, a current ratio of 1.29 and a quick ratio of 1.29. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $505.90 and its 200-day simple moving average is $472.76. Mastercard Incorporated has a 12 month low of $404.32 and a 12 month high of $534.03.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA) last posted its earnings results 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 period in the previous year, the business earned $3.39 earnings per share. Mastercard’s quarterly revenue was up 12.8% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Mastercard Incorporated will post 14.47 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Mastercard Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 8th. Investors of record on Wednesday, October 9th were paid a $0.66 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, October 9th. This represents a $2.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.52%. Mastercard’s payout ratio is 19.97%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on MA shares. Bank of America lifted their target price on shares of Mastercard from $480.00 to $509.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, September 17th. Citigroup lifted their price objective on shares of Mastercard from $566.00 to $572.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, November 4th. BMO Capital Markets increased their target price on shares of Mastercard from $550.00 to $565.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 14th. Oppenheimer began coverage on Mastercard in a research report on Tuesday, October 1st. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $591.00 price target on the stock. Finally, UBS Group increased their price objective on Mastercard from $590.00 to $610.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 14th. 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, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average 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.