Balentine LLC Invests $264,000 in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA)

Balentine LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 535 shares of the credit services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $264,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Highline Wealth Partners LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Mastercard during the 3rd quarter valued at about $25,000. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL bought a new position in Mastercard during the second quarter valued at approximately $34,000. Fairway Wealth LLC purchased a new stake in Mastercard in the second quarter worth approximately $35,000. Lowe Wealth Advisors LLC grew its position in Mastercard by 74.0% in the 3rd quarter. Lowe Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 87 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $43,000 after purchasing an additional 37 shares during the period. Finally, VitalStone Financial LLC raised its stake in Mastercard by 55.0% during the 1st quarter. VitalStone Financial LLC now owns 93 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $45,000 after buying an additional 33 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 97.28% of the company’s stock.

Mastercard Stock Down 0.0 %

NYSE MA opened at $505.53 on Wednesday. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $497.12 and a 200-day moving average price of $467.65. Mastercard Incorporated has a one year low of $384.20 and a one year high of $527.90. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.36, a quick ratio of 1.29 and a current ratio of 1.29. The company has a market capitalization of $467.03 billion, a P/E ratio of 38.24, a P/E/G ratio of 2.23 and a beta of 1.10.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 31st. The credit services provider reported $3.89 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.73 by $0.16. The business 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 business’s revenue was up 12.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company posted $3.39 EPS. As a group, equities analysts predict that Mastercard Incorporated will post 14.4 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Mastercard Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 8th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, October 9th will be paid a dividend of $0.66 per share. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, October 9th. This represents a $2.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.52%. Mastercard’s payout ratio is currently 19.97%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have issued reports on MA. Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on Mastercard from $540.00 to $544.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday. Barclays increased their price target on shares of Mastercard from $536.00 to $576.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 10th. Royal Bank of Canada upped their price objective on Mastercard from $500.00 to $526.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 1st. William Blair upgraded Mastercard to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 31st. Finally, Macquarie upped their price target on Mastercard from $505.00 to $565.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, November 1st. Four investment 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 company. According to data from MarketBeat, Mastercard presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $540.17.

Insider Buying and Selling at Mastercard

In other news, CMO Venkata R. Madabhushi sold 4,685 shares of Mastercard stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 transaction, the chief marketing officer now owns 17,118 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,440,885.80. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In related news, CMO Venkata R. Madabhushi sold 4,685 shares of the company’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 transaction, the chief marketing officer now directly owns 17,118 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,440,885.80. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, major shareholder Foundation Mastercard sold 90,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $468.80, for a total value of $42,192,000.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 91,649,308 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $42,965,195,590.40. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 327,370 shares of company stock worth $153,495,958 over the last ninety days. Company insiders own 0.10% of the company’s stock.

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.