Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) Shares Bought by Bridgewater Advisors Inc.

Bridgewater Advisors Inc. boosted its position in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) by 0.7% in the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 13,719 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 99 shares during the period. Bridgewater Advisors Inc.’s holdings in Mastercard were worth $6,946,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Sarasin & Partners LLP increased its position in Mastercard by 4.7% during the third quarter. Sarasin & Partners LLP now owns 831,942 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $410,813,000 after purchasing an additional 37,486 shares during the last quarter. Coppell Advisory Solutions Corp. purchased a new stake in Mastercard during the first quarter valued at about $608,000. SteelPeak Wealth LLC increased its stake in Mastercard by 48.6% during the second quarter. SteelPeak Wealth LLC now owns 4,928 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $2,174,000 after acquiring an additional 1,612 shares during the last quarter. Susquehanna Fundamental Investments LLC purchased a new position in shares of Mastercard in the 1st quarter worth about $2,938,000. Finally, OMC Financial Services LTD acquired a new position in shares of Mastercard in the 1st quarter valued at about $17,854,000. 97.28% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Mastercard Stock Performance

Shares of MA opened at $521.13 on Thursday. The company has a market capitalization of $481.44 billion, a PE ratio of 39.42, a PEG ratio of 2.21 and a beta of 1.10. 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’s 50 day moving average price is $498.11 and its 200 day moving average price is $468.02. Mastercard Incorporated has a 52 week low of $384.30 and a 52 week high of $527.90.

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

Mastercard Announces Dividend

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts recently commented on MA shares. Citigroup raised their price target on shares of Mastercard from $566.00 to $572.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday. Compass Point started coverage on Mastercard in a report on Wednesday, September 4th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $525.00 price target for the company. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upped their target price on Mastercard from $510.00 to $580.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, November 1st. TD Cowen upped their target price on shares of Mastercard from $532.00 to $533.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 1st. Finally, Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on shares of Mastercard from $540.00 to $544.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty have assigned a buy rating and three have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Mastercard currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $540.17.

Insider Buying and Selling at Mastercard

In other news, CMO Venkata R. Madabhushi sold 4,685 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, September 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $489.86, for a total transaction of $2,294,994.10. Following the completion of the sale, the chief marketing officer now owns 15,031 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,363,085.66. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In related news, major shareholder Foundation Mastercard sold 90,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $468.80, for a total transaction of $42,192,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 91,649,308 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $42,965,195,590.40. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CMO Venkata R. Madabhushi sold 4,685 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, September 20th. The stock was 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 owns 15,031 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,363,085.66. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 327,370 shares of company stock worth $153,495,958 over the last ninety days. 0.10% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.