J. Stern & Co. LLP Buys 5,447 Shares of Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA)

J. Stern & Co. LLP increased its stake in shares of Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) by 5.0% in the third quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 115,002 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after buying an additional 5,447 shares during the quarter. Mastercard accounts for approximately 6.1% of J. Stern & Co. LLP’s holdings, making the stock its 6th biggest holding. J. Stern & Co. LLP’s holdings in Mastercard were worth $56,788,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Highline Wealth Partners LLC acquired a new position in shares of Mastercard during the third quarter worth about $25,000. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL bought a new stake in Mastercard in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $34,000. First Personal Financial Services bought a new stake in Mastercard in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $39,000. Fairway Wealth LLC acquired a new position in Mastercard during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $35,000. Finally, Lowe Wealth Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Mastercard by 74.0% during the 3rd quarter. Lowe Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 87 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $43,000 after acquiring an additional 37 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 97.28% of the company’s stock.

Mastercard Trading Down 0.0 %

MA traded down $0.12 during trading on Tuesday, hitting $526.48. 133,191 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,457,528. Mastercard Incorporated has a 12-month low of $404.32 and a 12-month high of $534.03. The firm has a market capitalization of $483.22 billion, a P/E ratio of 39.83, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.32 and a beta of 1.10. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.36, a current ratio of 1.29 and a quick ratio of 1.29. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $507.49 and a 200 day moving average of $474.33.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The credit services provider reported $3.89 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.73 by $0.16. The firm had revenue of $7.37 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $7.27 billion. Mastercard had a net margin of 45.26% and a return on equity of 178.27%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 12.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company posted $3.39 EPS. Equities research analysts anticipate that Mastercard Incorporated will post 14.47 EPS for the current year.

Mastercard Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 8th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, October 9th were given a $0.66 dividend. This represents a $2.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.50%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, October 9th. Mastercard’s dividend payout ratio is presently 19.97%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CMO Venkata R. Madabhushi sold 4,685 shares of Mastercard stock in a transaction dated Friday, September 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $493.10, for a total value of $2,310,173.50. Following the completion of the sale, the chief marketing officer now directly owns 17,118 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,440,885.80. This trade represents a 21.49 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 0.10% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts recently commented on MA shares. Mizuho increased their target price on shares of Mastercard from $496.00 to $532.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, November 1st. Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on shares of Mastercard from $544.00 to $564.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 14th. BNP Paribas cut Mastercard from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $470.00 price objective for the company. in a report on Tuesday, September 3rd. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $572.00 target price on shares of Mastercard in a report on Thursday, November 14th. Finally, Argus upgraded Mastercard to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 1st. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-two have given a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Mastercard currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $549.16.

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.