Strengthening Families & Communities LLC Buys 557 Shares of Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA)

Strengthening Families & Communities LLC lifted its position in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) by 7.6% in the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 7,932 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 557 shares during the quarter. Mastercard comprises approximately 1.0% of Strengthening Families & Communities LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 21st largest holding. Strengthening Families & Communities LLC’s holdings in Mastercard were worth $3,917,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. International Assets Investment Management LLC increased its position in shares of Mastercard by 120,665.3% during the 3rd quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 8,041,758 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $3,971,020,000 after purchasing an additional 8,035,099 shares during the last quarter. Swedbank AB purchased a new stake in Mastercard during the first quarter worth about $660,652,000. PineStone Asset Management Inc. raised its position in Mastercard by 145.6% in the second quarter. PineStone Asset Management Inc. now owns 1,777,468 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $784,148,000 after acquiring an additional 1,053,616 shares during the period. Manning & Napier Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Mastercard during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $259,071,000. Finally, Capital World Investors grew its position in shares of Mastercard by 13.3% during the 1st quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 3,293,617 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $1,586,107,000 after acquiring an additional 387,317 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 97.28% of the company’s stock.

Mastercard Stock Up 0.3 %

Shares of MA opened at $521.89 on Monday. Mastercard Incorporated has a 1 year low of $395.55 and a 1 year high of $534.03. 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 stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $504.09 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $471.38. The firm has a market cap of $479.01 billion, a P/E ratio of 39.48, a P/E/G ratio of 2.28 and a beta of 1.10.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 31st. The credit services provider reported $3.89 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.73 by $0.16. Mastercard had a net margin of 45.26% and a return on equity of 178.27%. The company had revenue of $7.37 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $7.27 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $3.39 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 12.8% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts forecast that Mastercard Incorporated will post 14.47 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Mastercard Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 8th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, October 9th were paid a dividend of $0.66 per share. The ex-dividend date was 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 currently 19.97%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms recently commented on MA. Compass Point initiated coverage on Mastercard in a research note on Wednesday, September 4th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $525.00 price objective on the stock. Susquehanna upped their price target on Mastercard from $540.00 to $605.00 and gave the company a “positive” rating in a research report on Friday, November 1st. Robert W. Baird lifted their price objective on Mastercard from $545.00 to $575.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 16th. Mizuho upped their price objective on shares of Mastercard from $496.00 to $532.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, November 1st. Finally, Barclays lifted their target price on shares of Mastercard from $536.00 to $576.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 10th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-one have assigned a buy rating and three have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $549.16.

Insider Transactions at Mastercard

In other news, major shareholder Foundation Mastercard sold 90,000 shares of the firm’s 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 approximately $42,965,195,590.40. This trade represents a 0.10 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale 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 company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, September 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $493.10, for a total transaction of $2,310,173.50. Following the sale, the chief marketing officer now owns 17,118 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,440,885.80. This represents a 21.49 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 99,370 shares of company stock worth $46,797,168. Company insiders own 0.10% of the company’s stock.

Mastercard 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.