Aptus Capital Advisors LLC Grows Stock Holdings in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA)

Aptus Capital Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) by 8.6% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 6,733 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after buying an additional 536 shares during the quarter. Aptus Capital Advisors LLC’s holdings in Mastercard were worth $3,325,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Commonwealth Retirement Investments LLC raised its position in shares of Mastercard by 3.0% in the 3rd quarter. Commonwealth Retirement Investments LLC now owns 3,139 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $1,550,000 after purchasing an additional 91 shares during the last quarter. Cumberland Partners Ltd raised its position in shares of Mastercard by 0.9% in the 3rd quarter. Cumberland Partners Ltd now owns 61,549 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $30,393,000 after purchasing an additional 555 shares during the last quarter. Prime Capital Investment Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Mastercard by 2.1% in the 3rd quarter. Prime Capital Investment Advisors LLC now owns 34,885 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $17,226,000 after purchasing an additional 720 shares during the last quarter. Hemenway Trust Co LLC raised its position in shares of Mastercard by 0.9% in the 3rd quarter. Hemenway Trust Co LLC now owns 99,287 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $49,028,000 after purchasing an additional 839 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC raised its position in shares of Mastercard by 1.2% in the 3rd quarter. Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC now owns 6,832 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $3,374,000 after purchasing an additional 83 shares during the last quarter. 97.28% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

MA has been the topic of several research reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price target on shares of Mastercard from $593.00 to $580.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, November 1st. Argus upgraded shares of Mastercard to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Thursday, August 1st. Oppenheimer initiated coverage on shares of Mastercard in a report on Tuesday, October 1st. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $591.00 price target on the stock. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft increased their price target on shares of Mastercard from $510.00 to $580.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, November 1st. Finally, Compass Point initiated coverage on shares of Mastercard in a report on Wednesday, September 4th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $525.00 price target on the stock. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty have assigned a buy rating and three have assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $540.17.

Insider Transactions at Mastercard

In other news, CMO Venkata R. Madabhushi sold 4,685 shares of Mastercard 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 transaction, 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 transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. In other news, major shareholder Foundation Mastercard sold 119,000 shares of Mastercard stock in a transaction on Friday, August 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $468.46, for a total transaction of $55,746,740.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 92,033,308 shares in the company, valued at $43,113,923,465.68. The trade was 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. Also, CMO Venkata R. Madabhushi sold 4,685 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the sale, the chief marketing officer now owns 15,031 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,363,085.66. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 327,370 shares of company stock worth $153,495,958 in the last quarter. Company insiders own 0.10% of the company’s stock.

Mastercard Trading Down 1.4 %

Shares of MA stock opened at $521.50 on Thursday. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $501.55 and its two-hundred day moving average is $469.88. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.36, a quick ratio of 1.29 and a current ratio of 1.29. The firm has a market capitalization of $478.65 billion, a P/E ratio of 39.45, a PEG ratio of 2.32 and a beta of 1.10. Mastercard Incorporated has a fifty-two week low of $394.76 and a fifty-two week high of $534.03.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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 company had revenue of $7.37 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.27 billion. Mastercard had a return on equity of 178.27% and a net margin of 45.26%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 12.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $3.39 EPS. Research analysts expect that Mastercard Incorporated will post 14.45 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Mastercard Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 8th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, October 9th were issued a dividend of $0.66 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, October 9th. This represents a $2.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.51%. Mastercard’s dividend payout ratio is presently 19.97%.

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.