Montz Harcus Wealth Management LLC Takes Position in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA)

Montz Harcus Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) during the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund bought 439 shares of the credit services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $217,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. International Assets Investment Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Mastercard by 120,665.3% in the third quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 8,041,758 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $3,971,020,000 after purchasing an additional 8,035,099 shares in the last quarter. Swedbank AB purchased a new position in shares of Mastercard in the 1st quarter worth $660,652,000. PineStone Asset Management Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Mastercard by 145.6% in the 2nd quarter. PineStone Asset Management Inc. now owns 1,777,468 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $784,148,000 after buying an additional 1,053,616 shares during the last quarter. Manning & Napier Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Mastercard in the 2nd quarter worth about $259,071,000. Finally, Capital World Investors raised its position in shares of Mastercard by 13.3% during the 1st quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 3,293,617 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $1,586,107,000 after buying an additional 387,317 shares in the last quarter. 97.28% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts recently commented on MA shares. TD Cowen lifted their price target on Mastercard from $532.00 to $533.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 1st. Argus upgraded Mastercard to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Thursday, August 1st. BNP Paribas lowered Mastercard from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $470.00 price target on the stock. in a report on Tuesday, September 3rd. Oppenheimer started coverage on shares of Mastercard in a research note on Tuesday, October 1st. They set an “outperform” rating and a $591.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Compass Point initiated coverage on shares of Mastercard in a research note on Wednesday, September 4th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $525.00 target price on the stock. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eighteen have issued a buy rating and three have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Mastercard currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $525.68.

Mastercard Stock Down 0.6 %

Shares of MA traded down $3.26 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $507.36. 1,582,222 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,428,942. The company has a current ratio of 1.14, a quick ratio of 1.14 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.95. The stock has a market capitalization of $471.65 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 40.33, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.27 and a beta of 1.10. Mastercard Incorporated has a 1 year low of $359.77 and a 1 year high of $518.82. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $491.84 and its 200-day moving average is $465.39.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 31st. The credit services provider reported $3.59 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.51 by $0.08. Mastercard had a return on equity of 179.78% and a net margin of 46.45%. The company had revenue of $6.96 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.85 billion. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Mastercard Incorporated will post 14.32 earnings per share for the current year.

Mastercard Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 8th. Investors of record on Wednesday, October 9th will be paid a $0.66 dividend. This represents a $2.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.52%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, October 9th. Mastercard’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 20.99%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CMO Venkata R. Madabhushi sold 4,685 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, September 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $489.86, for a total value 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 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. In other Mastercard news, CFO J. Mehra Sachin sold 13,439 shares of Mastercard stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $455.00, for a total transaction of $6,114,745.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 27,304 shares in the company, valued at approximately $12,423,320. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CMO Venkata R. Madabhushi sold 4,685 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, September 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $489.86, for a total transaction of $2,294,994.10. Following the completion of the sale, the chief marketing officer now owns 15,031 shares in the company, valued at $7,363,085.66. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 340,809 shares of company stock valued at $159,610,703. Insiders own 0.10% of the company’s stock.

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.