Versant Capital Management Inc Buys 96 Shares of Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA)

Versant Capital Management Inc raised its stake in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) by 12.0% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 895 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 96 shares during the quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc’s holdings in Mastercard were worth $442,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in MA. Swedbank AB bought a new stake in Mastercard in the first quarter valued at approximately $660,652,000. PineStone Asset Management Inc. raised its stake in Mastercard by 145.6% in 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 acquiring an additional 1,053,616 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in 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. Manning & Napier Advisors LLC bought a new position in Mastercard during the second quarter worth $259,071,000. Finally, Global Assets Advisory LLC acquired a new position in shares of Mastercard in the first quarter valued at $203,198,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 97.28% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CMO Venkata R. Madabhushi sold 4,685 shares of the 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 transaction, the chief marketing officer now directly owns 15,031 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,363,085.66. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In related news, major shareholder Foundation Mastercard sold 119,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, August 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $468.46, for a total transaction of $55,746,740.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 92,033,308 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $43,113,923,465.68. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CMO Venkata R. Madabhushi sold 4,685 shares of Mastercard stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the chief marketing officer now directly owns 15,031 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,363,085.66. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 340,809 shares of company stock valued at $159,610,703. 0.10% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Mastercard Price Performance

Mastercard stock opened at $491.30 on Tuesday. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $476.54 and a 200-day moving average of $462.27. The stock has a market capitalization of $456.72 billion, a P/E ratio of 39.05, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.96 and a beta of 1.10. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.95, a quick ratio of 1.14 and a current ratio of 1.14. Mastercard Incorporated has a 52 week low of $359.77 and a 52 week high of $501.80.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, July 31st. The credit services provider reported $3.59 EPS 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 the consensus estimate of $6.85 billion. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Mastercard Incorporated will post 14.29 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Mastercard Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 8th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, October 9th will be given a $0.66 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, October 9th. This represents a $2.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.54%. Mastercard’s dividend payout ratio is currently 20.99%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts recently commented on MA shares. Oppenheimer started coverage on shares of Mastercard in a report on Tuesday, October 1st. They set an “outperform” rating and a $591.00 target price for the company. Bank of America boosted their price objective on Mastercard from $480.00 to $509.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, September 17th. BNP Paribas lowered Mastercard from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $470.00 target price on the stock. in a research note on Tuesday, September 3rd. Citigroup lifted their price target on Mastercard from $528.00 to $538.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, August 1st. Finally, Evercore ISI decreased their price objective on Mastercard from $540.00 to $525.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, June 25th. Five 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. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $517.22.

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.