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

Benjamin Edwards Inc. lifted its position in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) by 1,664.2% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 100,736 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 95,026 shares during the quarter. Mastercard makes up 0.7% of Benjamin Edwards Inc.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 26th biggest holding. Benjamin Edwards Inc.’s holdings in Mastercard were worth $49,761,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

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

Mastercard Stock Performance

NYSE MA opened at $532.94 on Monday. Mastercard Incorporated has a twelve month low of $404.32 and a twelve month high of $535.77. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $510.37 and its 200 day moving average price is $476.43. The company has a current ratio of 1.29, a quick ratio of 1.29 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.36. The company has a market capitalization of $489.15 billion, a PE ratio of 40.31, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.37 and a beta of 1.10.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA) last released its earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The credit services provider reported $3.89 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.73 by $0.16. The firm had revenue of $7.37 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.27 billion. Mastercard had a net margin of 45.26% and a return on equity of 178.27%. Mastercard’s revenue was up 12.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $3.39 earnings per share. On average, research analysts predict that Mastercard Incorporated will post 14.47 earnings per share for the current year.

Mastercard Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 8th. Investors of record on Wednesday, October 9th were issued a $0.66 dividend. This represents a $2.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.50%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, October 9th. Mastercard’s payout ratio is currently 19.97%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on MA shares. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upped their price target on Mastercard from $510.00 to $580.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Compass Point began coverage on shares of Mastercard in a research note on Wednesday, September 4th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $525.00 target price for the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price target on shares of Mastercard from $593.00 to $580.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Susquehanna raised their price objective on shares of Mastercard from $540.00 to $605.00 and gave the company a “positive” rating in a research report on Friday, November 1st. Finally, Robert W. Baird boosted their target price on Mastercard from $545.00 to $575.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 16th. Four equities research 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 company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $549.16.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Mastercard news, CMO Venkata R. Madabhushi sold 4,685 shares of Mastercard stock in a transaction that occurred 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. The trade was a 23.76 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 0.10% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.