Almanack Investment Partners LLC. Takes $360,000 Position in Mastercard Incorporated $MA

Almanack Investment Partners LLC. purchased a new stake in shares of Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) during the 2nd quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm purchased 641 shares of the credit services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $360,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of MA. Brighton Jones LLC increased its position in shares of Mastercard by 42.3% during the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 6,824 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $3,594,000 after buying an additional 2,028 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its holdings in shares of Mastercard by 19.9% during the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 15,007 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $8,226,000 after purchasing an additional 2,493 shares in the last quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC grew its holdings in shares of Mastercard by 13.6% during the first quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 316,790 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $173,640,000 after purchasing an additional 37,947 shares in the last quarter. Opal Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Mastercard during the first quarter worth about $164,000. Finally, Grant Private Wealth Management Inc grew its holdings in shares of Mastercard by 19.0% during the first quarter. Grant Private Wealth Management Inc now owns 764 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $419,000 after purchasing an additional 122 shares in the last quarter. 97.28% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Mastercard Stock Down 1.4%

Shares of MA opened at $556.80 on Monday. The firm has a market cap of $503.35 billion, a P/E ratio of 37.55, a P/E/G ratio of 2.28 and a beta of 0.97. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $581.01 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $562.90. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.41, a current ratio of 1.16 and a quick ratio of 1.16. Mastercard Incorporated has a 1 year low of $465.59 and a 1 year high of $601.77.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, July 31st. The credit services provider reported $4.15 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $4.05 by $0.10. The business had revenue of $8.13 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.95 billion. Mastercard had a return on equity of 200.01% and a net margin of 44.93%.Mastercard’s revenue for the quarter was up 16.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $3.50 earnings per share. On average, analysts forecast that Mastercard Incorporated will post 15.91 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Mastercard Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 7th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, October 9th will be given a $0.76 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, October 9th. This represents a $3.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.5%. Mastercard’s payout ratio is presently 20.50%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Mastercard news, CFO J. Mehra Sachin sold 17,263 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, September 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $591.00, for a total value of $10,202,433.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer owned 31,234 shares in the company, valued at approximately $18,459,294. The trade was a 35.60% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.09% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have recently commented on MA. Wall Street Zen lowered Mastercard from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, September 26th. TD Cowen reissued a “buy” rating and set a $645.00 price objective on shares of Mastercard in a report on Monday, August 11th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft began coverage on Mastercard in a report on Thursday, July 17th. They set a “buy” rating and a $650.00 price objective for the company. Seaport Res Ptn raised Mastercard from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday, July 14th. Finally, Robert W. Baird boosted their price objective on Mastercard from $640.00 to $660.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, October 6th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-five have assigned a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $634.04.

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.