Balentine LLC Takes $264,000 Position in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA)

Balentine LLC acquired a new position in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) during the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund acquired 535 shares of the credit services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $264,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Tobias Financial Advisors Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Mastercard in the 3rd quarter valued at about $200,000. Falcon Wealth Planning purchased a new position in Mastercard during the third quarter valued at approximately $224,000. Crestwood Advisors Group LLC increased its holdings in Mastercard by 254.1% during the third quarter. Crestwood Advisors Group LLC now owns 52,563 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $25,955,000 after buying an additional 37,720 shares during the period. Global Wealth Management Investment Advisory Inc. bought a new position in Mastercard in the third quarter worth approximately $231,000. Finally, Arthur M. Cohen & Associates LLC lifted its holdings in Mastercard by 5.1% during the third quarter. Arthur M. Cohen & Associates LLC now owns 4,886 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $2,425,000 after buying an additional 239 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 97.28% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In other Mastercard news, CMO Venkata R. Madabhushi sold 4,685 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the transaction, the chief marketing officer now owns 17,118 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,440,885.80. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. In other news, CMO Venkata R. Madabhushi sold 4,685 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, September 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $493.10, for a total value of $2,310,173.50. Following the completion of the sale, the chief marketing officer now directly owns 17,118 shares in the company, valued at $8,440,885.80. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, major shareholder Foundation Mastercard sold 90,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $468.80, for a total value of $42,192,000.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 91,649,308 shares in the company, valued at $42,965,195,590.40. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 327,370 shares of company stock valued at $153,495,958 in the last three months. 0.10% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Mastercard Trading Down 0.0 %

NYSE MA opened at $505.53 on Wednesday. Mastercard Incorporated has a 1 year low of $384.20 and a 1 year high of $527.90. 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 company has a market capitalization of $467.03 billion, a PE ratio of 38.24, a P/E/G ratio of 2.23 and a beta of 1.10. The company has a fifty day moving average of $497.12 and a 200 day moving average of $467.65.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 31st. The credit services provider reported $3.89 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.73 by $0.16. The business had revenue of $7.37 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $7.27 billion. Mastercard had a return on equity of 178.27% and a net margin of 45.26%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 12.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $3.39 EPS. Research analysts forecast that Mastercard Incorporated will post 14.4 earnings per share for the current year.

Mastercard Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 8th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, October 9th will be paid a dividend of $0.66 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, October 9th. This represents a $2.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.52%. Mastercard’s payout ratio is 19.97%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have recently commented on MA. BMO Capital Markets reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $520.00 price target on shares of Mastercard in a research report on Wednesday, August 14th. Robert W. Baird boosted their target price on shares of Mastercard from $545.00 to $575.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 16th. Compass Point began coverage on shares of Mastercard in a report on Wednesday, September 4th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $525.00 price target on the stock. Susquehanna lifted their price objective on shares of Mastercard from $540.00 to $605.00 and gave the stock a “positive” rating in a research report on Friday, November 1st. Finally, Mizuho increased their target price on shares of Mastercard from $496.00 to $532.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, November 1st. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty have issued a buy rating and three have given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $540.17.

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.