FORA Capital LLC Acquires New Stake in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA)

FORA Capital LLC acquired a new stake in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) in the third quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor acquired 1,363 shares of the credit services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $673,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of MA. LRI Investments LLC bought a new stake in Mastercard during the first quarter valued at $91,000. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC bought a new position in shares of Mastercard during the 1st quarter worth about $170,000. Westwood Holdings Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of Mastercard by 56.1% during the 1st quarter. Westwood Holdings Group Inc. now owns 1,094 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $527,000 after purchasing an additional 393 shares in the last quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Mastercard by 4.7% during the 1st quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 4,952 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $2,234,000 after purchasing an additional 222 shares in the last quarter. Finally, OMC Financial Services LTD bought a new position in shares of Mastercard during the 1st quarter worth about $17,854,000. 97.28% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling at Mastercard

In other Mastercard news, 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 value of $2,294,994.10. Following the transaction, the chief marketing officer now owns 15,031 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,363,085.66. The trade was a 23.76 % 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 the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.10% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

MA has been the topic of several recent research reports. Citigroup raised their price target on shares of Mastercard from $566.00 to $572.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, November 4th. Susquehanna raised their price target 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. KeyCorp increased their price objective on shares of Mastercard from $515.00 to $580.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, November 1st. TD Cowen raised their price target on shares of Mastercard from $533.00 to $567.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, November 15th. Finally, Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on shares of Mastercard from $544.00 to $564.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, November 14th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-two have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $549.16.

Mastercard Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:MA opened at $532.38 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $488.63 billion, a PE ratio of 40.27, a PEG ratio of 2.37 and a beta of 1.10. The company’s fifty day moving average is $509.57 and its 200 day moving average is $475.63. Mastercard Incorporated has a 52 week low of $404.32 and a 52 week high of $534.03. The company has a quick ratio of 1.29, a current ratio of 1.29 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.36.

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

Mastercard Dividend Announcement

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

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.