Mastercard Incorporated $MA Shares Bought by Reliant Investment Management LLC

Reliant Investment Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) by 0.7% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 10,653 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 75 shares during the period. Mastercard comprises about 2.6% of Reliant Investment Management LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 19th biggest holding. Reliant Investment Management LLC’s holdings in Mastercard were worth $5,986,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors also recently modified their holdings of MA. Strategic Blueprint LLC grew its stake in Mastercard by 1.8% in the second quarter. Strategic Blueprint LLC now owns 4,444 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $2,497,000 after purchasing an additional 77 shares in the last quarter. Principle Wealth Partners LLC grew its stake in Mastercard by 19.9% in the second quarter. Principle Wealth Partners LLC now owns 5,928 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $3,331,000 after purchasing an additional 984 shares in the last quarter. Prosperity Financial Group Inc. grew its stake in Mastercard by 17.3% in the second quarter. Prosperity Financial Group Inc. now owns 1,734 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $974,000 after purchasing an additional 256 shares in the last quarter. LifeWealth Investments LLC grew its stake in Mastercard by 25.3% in the second quarter. LifeWealth Investments LLC now owns 1,049 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $590,000 after purchasing an additional 212 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Granite Harbor Advisors Inc. grew its stake in Mastercard by 7.1% in the second quarter. Granite Harbor Advisors Inc. now owns 1,850 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $1,040,000 after purchasing an additional 123 shares in the last quarter. 97.28% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on the stock. Morgan Stanley raised their target price on shares of Mastercard from $639.00 to $661.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, August 1st. Citigroup assumed coverage on shares of Mastercard in a report on Wednesday. They issued a “buy” rating and a $735.00 target price on the stock. Royal Bank Of Canada raised their target price on shares of Mastercard from $650.00 to $656.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, August 1st. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Mastercard from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Saturday, October 18th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised Mastercard to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday. Four analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-three have assigned a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Mastercard presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $638.00.

Insider Activity

In other news, CFO J. Mehra Sachin sold 17,816 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $586.89, for a total transaction of $10,456,032.24. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 31,234 shares in the company, valued at approximately $18,330,922.26. The trade was a 36.32% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.09% of the company’s stock.

Mastercard Trading Down 0.3%

Shares of NYSE:MA opened at $570.57 on Thursday. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $579.88 and a two-hundred day moving average of $564.14. The firm has a market capitalization of $515.80 billion, a P/E ratio of 38.47, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.34 and a beta of 0.97. Mastercard Incorporated has a 12-month low of $465.59 and a 12-month high of $601.77. The company has a quick ratio of 1.16, a current ratio of 1.16 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.41.

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

Mastercard Announces Dividend

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

Mastercard Company 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.