Stratos Wealth Partners LTD. Boosts Stock Position in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA)

Stratos Wealth Partners LTD. raised its position in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) by 2.0% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 28,366 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 553 shares during the period. Stratos Wealth Partners LTD.’s holdings in Mastercard were worth $14,007,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of MA. Meyer Handelman Co. acquired a new stake in Mastercard in the 1st quarter worth about $270,000. &PARTNERS acquired a new position in shares of Mastercard during the 1st quarter valued at about $407,000. International Assets Investment Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Mastercard by 1.2% during the 1st quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 6,969 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $3,334,000 after acquiring an additional 84 shares during the period. Crestmont Private Wealth LLC boosted its position in shares of Mastercard by 14.3% in the first quarter. Crestmont Private Wealth LLC now owns 857 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $413,000 after acquiring an additional 107 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Unique Wealth LLC grew its holdings in Mastercard by 49.6% in the first quarter. Unique Wealth LLC now owns 2,540 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $1,223,000 after purchasing an additional 842 shares during the period. 97.28% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Transactions at Mastercard

In other Mastercard news, CMO Venkata R. Madabhushi sold 4,685 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the chief marketing officer now owns 15,031 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,363,085.66. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. In other Mastercard news, CMO Venkata R. Madabhushi sold 4,685 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, September 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $489.86, for a total value of $2,294,994.10. Following the sale, the chief marketing officer now directly owns 15,031 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,363,085.66. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CFO J. Mehra Sachin sold 13,439 shares of Mastercard stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 27,304 shares in the company, valued at approximately $12,423,320. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 340,809 shares of company stock worth $159,610,703. 0.10% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

MA has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. William Blair upgraded shares of Mastercard to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 31st. TD Cowen boosted their price target on Mastercard from $532.00 to $533.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 1st. Barclays lifted their price objective on Mastercard from $536.00 to $576.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 10th. Argus upgraded shares of Mastercard to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Thursday, August 1st. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on shares of Mastercard from $500.00 to $570.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 20th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eighteen have assigned a buy rating and three have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $524.64.

Mastercard Stock Up 0.5 %

NYSE:MA opened at $516.45 on Friday. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $486.90 and a 200 day simple moving average of $464.21. Mastercard Incorporated has a one year low of $359.77 and a one year high of $518.00. The company has a market capitalization of $480.10 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 41.05, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.22 and a beta of 1.10. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.95, a quick ratio of 1.14 and a current ratio of 1.14.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, July 31st. The credit services provider reported $3.59 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.51 by $0.08. The company had revenue of $6.96 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.85 billion. Mastercard had a return on equity of 179.78% and a net margin of 46.45%. Sell-side analysts predict that Mastercard Incorporated will post 14.3 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Mastercard Dividend Announcement

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

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.