Ascent Group LLC Increases Stock Position in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA)

Ascent Group LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) by 3.3% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 25,565 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after buying an additional 808 shares during the quarter. Mastercard makes up approximately 0.9% of Ascent Group LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 15th biggest holding. Ascent Group LLC’s holdings in Mastercard were worth $11,278,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Swedbank AB bought a new position in shares of Mastercard during the 1st quarter worth approximately $660,652,000. PineStone Asset Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Mastercard by 145.6% during the 2nd quarter. PineStone Asset Management Inc. now owns 1,777,468 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $784,148,000 after purchasing an additional 1,053,616 shares during the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Mastercard by 1.0% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 75,253,734 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $32,096,470,000 after purchasing an additional 742,076 shares during the last quarter. Capital International Investors grew its stake in Mastercard by 3.3% during the 4th quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 21,041,685 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $8,974,478,000 after buying an additional 676,452 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Capital Research Global Investors increased its position in Mastercard by 4.7% during the 4th quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 13,608,023 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $5,803,956,000 after buying an additional 605,909 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 97.28% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Mastercard

In other news, major shareholder Foundation Mastercard sold 119,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $468.46, for a total value of $55,746,740.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 92,033,308 shares in the company, valued at $43,113,923,465.68. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In other Mastercard news, CMO Venkata R. Madabhushi sold 4,685 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, September 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $493.10, for a total value of $2,310,173.50. Following the transaction, the chief marketing officer now directly owns 17,118 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,440,885.80. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, major shareholder Foundation Mastercard sold 119,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $468.46, for a total transaction of $55,746,740.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 92,033,308 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $43,113,923,465.68. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 340,809 shares of company stock worth $159,610,703. Insiders own 0.10% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have weighed in on MA. Barclays raised their price target on Mastercard from $530.00 to $536.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, August 5th. Susquehanna boosted their target price on shares of Mastercard from $535.00 to $540.00 and gave the stock a “positive” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 1st. BNP Paribas cut shares of Mastercard from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $470.00 target price for the company. in a report on Tuesday, September 3rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on shares of Mastercard from $500.00 to $570.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 20th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $520.00 price objective on shares of Mastercard in a research note on Wednesday, August 14th. Five 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 stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $513.70.

Mastercard Price Performance

Shares of Mastercard stock opened at $493.64 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $458.90 billion, a P/E ratio of 39.24, a PEG ratio of 1.96 and a beta of 1.10. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $470.79 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $461.86. Mastercard Incorporated has a 12 month low of $359.77 and a 12 month high of $501.80. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.95, a current ratio of 1.14 and a quick ratio of 1.14.

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

Mastercard Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 8th. Investors of record on Wednesday, October 9th will be given a dividend of $0.66 per share. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, October 9th. This represents a $2.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.53%. Mastercard’s payout ratio is presently 20.99%.

Mastercard 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.