Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) Shares Acquired by AE Wealth Management LLC

AE Wealth Management LLC increased its stake in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) by 28.3% during the second quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 76,226 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 16,791 shares during the quarter. AE Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in Mastercard were worth $33,628,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of MA. VitalStone Financial LLC grew its holdings in shares of Mastercard by 300.0% in the 4th quarter. VitalStone Financial LLC now owns 60 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $26,000 after acquiring an additional 45 shares during the last quarter. Westend Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Mastercard in the 1st quarter worth $27,000. Palisade Asset Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Mastercard in the 1st quarter worth $27,000. Scarborough Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Mastercard in the 4th quarter worth $28,000. Finally, Beaird Harris Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Mastercard in the 4th quarter worth $30,000. 97.28% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity at Mastercard

In related news, major shareholder Foundation Mastercard sold 131,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $459.46, for a total transaction of $60,189,260.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 92,426,308 shares in the company, valued at $42,466,191,473.68. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. In other news, major shareholder Foundation Mastercard sold 131,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $459.46, for a total value of $60,189,260.00. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 92,426,308 shares in the company, valued at approximately $42,466,191,473.68. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CFO J. Mehra Sachin sold 13,439 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $455.00, for a total value of $6,114,745.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 27,304 shares in the company, valued at $12,423,320. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 605,124 shares of company stock worth $280,045,189 over the last three months. Company insiders own 0.10% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on the company. William Blair upgraded Mastercard to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 31st. Citigroup raised their target price on Mastercard from $528.00 to $538.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 1st. Barclays raised their target price on Mastercard from $530.00 to $536.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, August 5th. BMO Capital Markets reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $520.00 target price on shares of Mastercard in a research report on Wednesday, August 14th. Finally, Evercore ISI decreased their target price on Mastercard from $540.00 to $525.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, June 25th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-one have issued a buy rating and three have given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $512.08.

Mastercard Trading Down 0.4 %

Shares of MA opened at $493.01 on Friday. Mastercard Incorporated has a 12-month low of $359.77 and a 12-month high of $501.80. The company has a quick ratio of 1.14, a current ratio of 1.14 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.95. The firm has a market capitalization of $458.31 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 39.19, a P/E/G ratio of 1.92 and a beta of 1.10. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $465.19 and its 200 day moving average price is $460.98.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 31st. The credit services provider reported $3.59 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.51 by $0.08. Mastercard had a return on equity of 179.78% and a net margin of 46.45%. The firm had revenue of $6.96 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.85 billion. As a group, research analysts predict that Mastercard Incorporated will post 14.29 earnings per share for the current year.

Mastercard Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 8th. Investors of record on Wednesday, October 9th will be paid a dividend of $0.66 per share. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, October 9th. This represents a $2.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.54%. Mastercard’s dividend payout ratio is 20.99%.

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.