Investment Management Corp of Ontario Purchases 25,306 Shares of Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA)

Investment Management Corp of Ontario increased its position in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) by 54.4% in the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 71,802 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after buying an additional 25,306 shares during the quarter. Mastercard makes up about 0.8% of Investment Management Corp of Ontario’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 19th largest position. Investment Management Corp of Ontario’s holdings in Mastercard were worth $35,456,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Hilltop Holdings Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Mastercard by 238.8% in the third quarter. Hilltop Holdings Inc. now owns 19,710 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $9,732,000 after buying an additional 13,892 shares in the last quarter. Holocene Advisors LP lifted its holdings in shares of Mastercard by 214.7% in the 3rd quarter. Holocene Advisors LP now owns 535,503 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $264,431,000 after purchasing an additional 365,324 shares during the last quarter. Garden State Investment Advisory Services LLC increased its stake in shares of Mastercard by 5.0% during the third quarter. Garden State Investment Advisory Services LLC now owns 655 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $324,000 after acquiring an additional 31 shares during the period. Cladis Investment Advisory LLC acquired a new position in shares of Mastercard during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $226,000. Finally, Coastwise Capital Group LLC boosted its stake in shares of Mastercard by 21.6% during the 3rd quarter. Coastwise Capital Group LLC now owns 562 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $278,000 after purchasing an additional 100 shares during the last quarter. 97.28% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

MA has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. UBS Group raised their target price on Mastercard from $590.00 to $610.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 14th. Susquehanna lifted their price objective on Mastercard from $540.00 to $605.00 and gave the company a “positive” rating in a report on Friday, November 1st. Citigroup increased their price target on Mastercard from $566.00 to $572.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, November 4th. William Blair restated an “outperform” rating on shares of Mastercard in a report on Monday, November 25th. Finally, Mizuho raised their target price on shares of Mastercard from $496.00 to $532.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, November 1st. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-two have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $549.16.

Mastercard Price Performance

MA stock opened at $532.95 on Tuesday. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $510.37 and a 200-day moving average price of $476.43. Mastercard Incorporated has a 52-week low of $404.32 and a 52-week high of $535.77. 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 capitalization of $489.16 billion, a P/E ratio of 40.17, a PEG 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, topping the consensus estimate of $3.73 by $0.16. Mastercard had a return on equity of 178.27% and a net margin of 45.26%. The business had revenue of $7.37 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.27 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $3.39 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 12.8% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts expect that Mastercard Incorporated will post 14.47 EPS for the current 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 paid a $0.66 dividend. 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 dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 19.97%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CMO Venkata R. Madabhushi sold 4,685 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, September 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $489.86, for a total transaction of $2,294,994.10. Following the transaction, the chief marketing officer now directly owns 15,031 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,363,085.66. This trade represents a 23.76 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Insiders own 0.10% of the company’s stock.

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.