Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) Stake Decreased by Beacon Investment Advisory Services Inc.

Beacon Investment Advisory Services Inc. lessened its holdings in shares of Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) by 0.8% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 145,886 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after selling 1,120 shares during the period. Mastercard accounts for approximately 3.0% of Beacon Investment Advisory Services Inc.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 4th biggest position. Beacon Investment Advisory Services Inc.’s holdings in Mastercard were worth $72,038,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Highline Wealth Partners LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Mastercard in the third quarter valued at about $25,000. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL acquired a new stake in shares of Mastercard during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $34,000. First Personal Financial Services purchased a new stake in shares of Mastercard during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $39,000. Fairway Wealth LLC acquired a new position in Mastercard in the second quarter valued at approximately $35,000. Finally, Lowe Wealth Advisors LLC grew its position in Mastercard by 74.0% in the third 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. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 97.28% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have commented on the company. UBS Group lifted their target price on Mastercard from $590.00 to $610.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 14th. Macquarie boosted their price objective on shares of Mastercard from $505.00 to $565.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, November 1st. Robert W. Baird increased their target price on shares of Mastercard from $545.00 to $575.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 16th. Mizuho boosted their price target on shares of Mastercard from $496.00 to $532.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Finally, BNP Paribas cut shares of Mastercard from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $470.00 price objective for the company. in a research report on Tuesday, September 3rd. Four 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 stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Mastercard has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $549.16.

Insider Activity

In other 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 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 document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Company insiders own 0.10% of the company’s stock.

Mastercard Stock Performance

NYSE:MA opened at $532.94 on Monday. Mastercard Incorporated has a 12 month low of $404.32 and a 12 month high of $535.77. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.36, a current ratio of 1.29 and a quick ratio of 1.29. The firm 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. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $510.37 and its 200 day moving average price is $476.43.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 31st. The credit services provider reported $3.89 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.73 by $0.16. The business had revenue of $7.37 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.27 billion. Mastercard had a return on equity of 178.27% and a net margin of 45.26%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 12.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $3.39 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Mastercard Incorporated will post 14.47 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Mastercard Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 8th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, October 9th were given 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 0.50%. Mastercard’s dividend payout ratio is presently 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.