Howard Financial Services LTD. Acquires 24 Shares of Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA)

Howard Financial Services LTD. increased its holdings in shares of Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) by 1.0% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 2,341 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 24 shares during the quarter. Howard Financial Services LTD.’s holdings in Mastercard were worth $1,156,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other large investors have also bought and sold shares of MA. McLean Asset Management Corp lifted its position in shares of Mastercard by 1.3% during the 3rd quarter. McLean Asset Management Corp now owns 1,677 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $834,000 after buying an additional 21 shares during the last quarter. Hoxton Planning & Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Mastercard by 1.4% during the 1st quarter. Hoxton Planning & Management LLC now owns 1,637 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $788,000 after buying an additional 22 shares during the last quarter. Quilter Plc lifted its position in shares of Mastercard by 2.8% during the 2nd quarter. Quilter Plc now owns 801 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $353,000 after buying an additional 22 shares during the last quarter. Benin Management CORP lifted its position in shares of Mastercard by 3.0% during the 1st quarter. Benin Management CORP now owns 794 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $382,000 after buying an additional 23 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Atticus Wealth Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Mastercard by 1.3% during the 1st quarter. Atticus Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,734 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $835,000 after buying an additional 23 shares during the last quarter. 97.28% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts recently issued reports on MA shares. Compass Point began coverage on Mastercard in a report on Wednesday, September 4th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $525.00 price objective on the stock. BNP Paribas lowered Mastercard from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $470.00 price objective on the stock. in a research report on Tuesday, September 3rd. Royal Bank of Canada raised their price target on Mastercard from $500.00 to $526.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 1st. Citigroup raised their price target on Mastercard from $528.00 to $538.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 1st. Finally, Susquehanna increased their price objective on Mastercard from $535.00 to $540.00 and gave the stock a “positive” rating in a report on Thursday, August 1st. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nineteen have issued a buy rating and three have assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Mastercard currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $517.22.

Mastercard Stock Up 1.2 %

Shares of NYSE:MA opened at $497.06 on Wednesday. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $478.54 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $462.40. The stock has a market capitalization of $462.07 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 39.51, a PEG ratio of 1.96 and a beta of 1.10. Mastercard Incorporated has a 12-month low of $359.77 and a 12-month high of $501.80. The company has a current ratio of 1.14, a quick ratio of 1.14 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.95.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 31st. The credit services provider reported $3.59 earnings per share for the quarter, topping 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 during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.85 billion. On average, research analysts anticipate that Mastercard Incorporated will post 14.29 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Mastercard Announces Dividend

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

Insider Transactions at Mastercard

In related news, CMO Venkata R. Madabhushi sold 4,685 shares of Mastercard stock in a transaction on Friday, September 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $489.86, for a total value of $2,294,994.10. Following the completion of the sale, the chief marketing officer now owns 15,031 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,363,085.66. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. 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 stock was sold at an average price of $489.86, for a total transaction of $2,294,994.10. Following the completion of the sale, the chief marketing officer now owns 15,031 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,363,085.66. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CFO J. Mehra Sachin sold 13,439 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 27,304 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $12,423,320. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 340,809 shares of company stock worth $159,610,703 over the last quarter. 0.10% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.