Mastercard Incorporated $MA Shares Purchased by Davis R M Inc.

Davis R M Inc. raised its position in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) by 15.4% in the second quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 3,563 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 475 shares during the quarter. Davis R M Inc.’s holdings in Mastercard were worth $2,002,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of MA. Brighton Jones LLC boosted its position in shares of Mastercard by 42.3% during the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 6,824 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $3,594,000 after acquiring an additional 2,028 shares in the last quarter. Hughes Financial Services LLC purchased a new stake in Mastercard during the first quarter worth approximately $34,000. Bleakley Financial Group LLC boosted its holdings in Mastercard by 7.7% in the first quarter. Bleakley Financial Group LLC now owns 26,432 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $14,488,000 after purchasing an additional 1,897 shares in the last quarter. Turtle Creek Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Mastercard in the first quarter valued at approximately $5,047,000. Finally, Cutter & CO Brokerage Inc. raised its holdings in Mastercard by 100.6% during the first quarter. Cutter & CO Brokerage Inc. now owns 8,296 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $4,536,000 after purchasing an additional 4,161 shares in the last quarter. 97.28% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms recently commented on MA. KeyCorp reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and issued a $665.00 target price on shares of Mastercard in a research report on Wednesday, October 22nd. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft initiated coverage on Mastercard in a report on Thursday, July 17th. They set a “buy” rating and a $650.00 price objective on the stock. Compass Point set a $620.00 target price on Mastercard and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, October 31st. The Goldman Sachs Group restated a “buy” rating and set a $713.00 price target on shares of Mastercard in a research note on Thursday, October 30th. Finally, Robert W. Baird lifted their price target on Mastercard from $640.00 to $660.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, October 6th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-three have assigned a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $649.26.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CFO J. Mehra Sachin sold 17,816 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $586.89, for a total value of $10,456,032.24. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer owned 31,234 shares in the company, valued at approximately $18,330,922.26. This trade represents a 36.32% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.09% of the company’s stock.

Mastercard Stock Performance

Shares of MA stock opened at $552.56 on Tuesday. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $571.37 and its 200 day moving average price is $569.63. The company has a quick ratio of 1.16, a current ratio of 1.16 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.41. The stock has a market capitalization of $499.52 billion, a PE ratio of 37.26, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.27 and a beta of 0.92. Mastercard Incorporated has a 52-week low of $465.59 and a 52-week high of $601.77.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 30th. The credit services provider reported $4.38 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.31 by $0.07. The company had revenue of $8.60 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $8.53 billion. Mastercard had a return on equity of 200.01% and a net margin of 44.93%.The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 16.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm earned $3.89 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Mastercard Incorporated will post 15.91 EPS for the current year.

Mastercard Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 7th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, October 9th were paid a $0.76 dividend. This represents a $3.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.6%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, October 9th. Mastercard’s payout ratio is currently 19.44%.

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.