Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) Stock Holdings Boosted by Kovack Advisors Inc.

Kovack Advisors Inc. lifted its position in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) by 30.6% during the third quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 2,549 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after buying an additional 597 shares during the period. Kovack Advisors Inc.’s holdings in Mastercard were worth $1,259,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also bought and sold shares of MA. China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd. grew its stake in shares of Mastercard by 46.4% in the 1st quarter. China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 14,785 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $7,120,000 after purchasing an additional 4,685 shares during the last quarter. Brighton Jones LLC boosted its holdings in Mastercard by 13.7% during the first quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 6,394 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $3,079,000 after buying an additional 768 shares in the last quarter. Great Lakes Retirement Inc. grew its position in Mastercard by 1.3% in the first quarter. Great Lakes Retirement Inc. now owns 4,982 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $2,399,000 after buying an additional 63 shares during the last quarter. Banco BTG Pactual S.A. bought a new position in shares of Mastercard in the first quarter valued at $757,000. Finally, Nwam LLC lifted its position in shares of Mastercard by 20.1% during the 1st quarter. Nwam LLC now owns 1,659 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $760,000 after acquiring an additional 278 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 97.28% of the company’s stock.

Mastercard Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE MA opened at $521.50 on Thursday. The firm has a market cap of $478.65 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 39.45, a P/E/G ratio of 2.32 and a beta of 1.10. 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 business’s 50-day simple moving average is $501.55 and its 200-day simple moving average is $469.88. Mastercard Incorporated has a 52 week low of $394.76 and a 52 week high of $534.03.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 31st. The credit services provider reported $3.89 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.73 by $0.16. Mastercard had a net margin of 45.26% and a return on equity of 178.27%. The business had revenue of $7.37 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.27 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $3.39 EPS. Mastercard’s quarterly revenue was up 12.8% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Mastercard Incorporated will post 14.45 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Mastercard Announces Dividend

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on MA. Piper Sandler reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $565.00 target price (up from $536.00) on shares of Mastercard in a research report on Friday, November 1st. Argus raised shares of Mastercard to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 1st. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lifted their target price on shares of Mastercard from $510.00 to $580.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, November 1st. Oppenheimer started coverage on shares of Mastercard in a research report on Tuesday, October 1st. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $591.00 price target for the company. Finally, Mizuho raised their price objective on shares of Mastercard from $496.00 to $532.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty have given a buy rating and three have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $540.17.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, major shareholder Foundation Mastercard sold 109,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $467.45, for a total value of $50,952,050.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 91,924,308 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $42,970,017,774.60. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In related news, CMO Venkata R. Madabhushi sold 4,685 shares of Mastercard stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the chief marketing officer now directly owns 15,031 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,363,085.66. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, major shareholder Foundation Mastercard sold 109,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $467.45, for a total value of $50,952,050.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 91,924,308 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $42,970,017,774.60. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 327,370 shares of company stock valued at $153,495,958. Insiders own 0.10% of the company’s stock.

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.