Brighton Jones LLC Boosts Stock Holdings in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA)

Brighton Jones LLC boosted its stake in shares of Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) by 1.9% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 6,517 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 123 shares during the period. Brighton Jones LLC’s holdings in Mastercard were worth $2,875,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of MA. VitalStone Financial LLC grew its stake 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 buying an additional 45 shares in the last quarter. Westend Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Mastercard in the 1st quarter worth $27,000. Palisade Asset Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Mastercard in the 1st quarter worth $27,000. Scarborough Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Mastercard in the 4th quarter worth $28,000. Finally, Beaird Harris Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Mastercard in the 4th quarter worth $30,000. 97.28% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have recently issued reports on MA. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on shares of Mastercard from $500.00 to $570.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 20th. Argus upgraded shares of Mastercard to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Thursday, August 1st. Citigroup raised their target price on shares of Mastercard from $528.00 to $538.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, August 1st. Susquehanna lifted their price objective on shares of Mastercard from $535.00 to $540.00 and gave the company a “positive” rating in a report on Thursday, August 1st. Finally, William Blair raised shares of Mastercard to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 31st. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-one have given a buy rating and three have given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $512.08.

Insider Transactions at Mastercard

In other news, CMO Venkata R. Madabhushi sold 4,685 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, September 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $493.10, for a total transaction of $2,310,173.50. Following the sale, the chief marketing officer now directly owns 17,118 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,440,885.80. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. In related news, major shareholder Foundation Mastercard sold 138,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, June 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $453.19, for a total value of $62,540,220.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 92,152,308 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $41,762,504,462.52. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, CMO Venkata R. Madabhushi sold 4,685 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, September 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $493.10, for a total transaction of $2,310,173.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief marketing officer now directly owns 17,118 shares in the company, valued at $8,440,885.80. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 605,124 shares of company stock valued at $280,045,189 in the last ninety days. 0.10% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Mastercard Price Performance

NYSE MA opened at $493.01 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.95, a current ratio of 1.14 and a quick ratio of 1.14. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $465.19 and its 200 day moving average price is $460.98. Mastercard Incorporated has a 1 year low of $359.77 and a 1 year high of $501.80. The company has a market cap of $458.31 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 39.19, a PEG ratio of 1.92 and a beta of 1.10.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA) last announced 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. The company had revenue of $6.96 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.85 billion. Mastercard had a return on equity of 179.78% and a net margin of 46.45%. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Mastercard Incorporated will post 14.29 earnings per share for the current year.

Mastercard Announces Dividend

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