Montecito Bank & Trust Raises Stake in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA)

Montecito Bank & Trust raised its holdings in shares of Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) by 34.6% during the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 4,478 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,152 shares during the period. Montecito Bank & Trust’s holdings in Mastercard were worth $2,211,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd. lifted its position in Mastercard by 46.4% in the first quarter. China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 14,785 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $7,120,000 after purchasing an additional 4,685 shares during the last quarter. Advisory Alpha LLC boosted its position in Mastercard by 32.3% during the 1st quarter. Advisory Alpha LLC now owns 995 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $479,000 after buying an additional 243 shares during the period. VitalStone Financial LLC boosted its position in Mastercard by 55.0% during the 1st quarter. VitalStone Financial LLC now owns 93 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $45,000 after buying an additional 33 shares during the period. Gallacher Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in Mastercard in the 1st quarter worth $228,000. Finally, SYM FINANCIAL Corp bought a new position in shares of Mastercard during the first quarter valued at about $233,000. 97.28% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Mastercard Stock Performance

Shares of MA opened at $521.13 on Thursday. Mastercard Incorporated has a 12 month low of $384.30 and a 12 month high of $527.90. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $498.11 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $468.02. The company has a current ratio of 1.29, a quick ratio of 1.29 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.36. The company has a market cap of $481.44 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 39.42, a P/E/G ratio of 2.21 and a beta of 1.10.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA) last released its quarterly earnings data 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. The company had revenue of $7.37 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.27 billion. Mastercard had a return on equity of 178.27% and a net margin of 45.26%. Mastercard’s revenue for the quarter was up 12.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company earned $3.39 EPS. Research analysts anticipate that Mastercard Incorporated will post 14.45 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Mastercard Announces Dividend

The business 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. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, October 9th. This represents a $2.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.51%. Mastercard’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 19.97%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, major shareholder Foundation Mastercard sold 119,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, August 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $468.46, for a total transaction of $55,746,740.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 92,033,308 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $43,113,923,465.68. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. In other news, CMO Venkata R. Madabhushi sold 4,685 shares of the business’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 completion of the sale, the chief marketing officer now owns 17,118 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,440,885.80. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, major shareholder Foundation Mastercard sold 119,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, August 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $468.46, for a total value of $55,746,740.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 92,033,308 shares in the company, valued at approximately $43,113,923,465.68. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 327,370 shares of company stock worth $153,495,958. 0.10% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

MA has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Bank of America boosted their price target on Mastercard from $480.00 to $509.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, September 17th. Robert W. Baird raised their price target on Mastercard from $545.00 to $575.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 16th. TD Cowen boosted their price objective on shares of Mastercard from $532.00 to $533.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 1st. Oppenheimer initiated coverage on shares of Mastercard in a research report on Tuesday, October 1st. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $591.00 target price for the company. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft boosted their price target on shares of Mastercard from $510.00 to $580.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, November 1st. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty have given a buy rating and three have assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus 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.