Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) Shares Bought by Benjamin Edwards Inc.

Benjamin Edwards Inc. lifted its position in shares of Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) by 1,664.2% during the third quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 100,736 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 95,026 shares during the quarter. Mastercard comprises about 0.7% of Benjamin Edwards Inc.’s holdings, making the stock its 26th largest holding. Benjamin Edwards Inc.’s holdings in Mastercard were worth $49,761,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Highline Wealth Partners LLC acquired a new position in shares of Mastercard in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL acquired a new stake in Mastercard in the second quarter valued at $34,000. Fairway Wealth LLC acquired a new position in Mastercard during the 2nd quarter worth $35,000. First Personal Financial Services bought a new stake in shares of Mastercard in the 3rd quarter worth about $39,000. Finally, Lowe Wealth Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Mastercard by 74.0% in the 3rd quarter. Lowe Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 87 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $43,000 after purchasing an additional 37 shares in the last quarter. 97.28% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Mastercard news, CMO Venkata R. Madabhushi sold 4,685 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, September 20th. The shares were 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 directly owns 15,031 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,363,085.66. This represents a 23.76 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.10% of the company’s stock.

Mastercard Trading Up 0.1 %

Mastercard stock opened at $532.94 on Monday. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $510.37 and a 200 day moving average price of $476.43. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.36, a quick ratio of 1.29 and a current ratio of 1.29. Mastercard Incorporated has a 52 week low of $404.32 and a 52 week high of $535.77. The firm has a market capitalization of $489.15 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 40.31, a P/E/G ratio of 2.37 and a beta of 1.10.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The credit services provider reported $3.89 earnings per share for the quarter, beating 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 return on equity of 178.27% and a net margin of 45.26%. Mastercard’s revenue for the quarter was up 12.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $3.39 earnings per share. Research analysts forecast that Mastercard Incorporated will post 14.47 EPS for the current year.

Mastercard Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 8th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, October 9th were paid a $0.66 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, October 9th. This represents a $2.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.50%. Mastercard’s dividend payout ratio is presently 19.97%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

MA has been the subject of several research analyst reports. BNP Paribas lowered Mastercard from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $470.00 price objective for the company. in a report on Tuesday, September 3rd. Robert W. Baird raised their price objective on Mastercard from $545.00 to $575.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 16th. Compass Point assumed coverage on shares of Mastercard in a research report on Wednesday, September 4th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $525.00 price target on the stock. Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on shares of Mastercard from $544.00 to $564.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 14th. Finally, William Blair reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of Mastercard in a report on Monday, November 25th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-two have issued a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $549.16.

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.