Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) Shares Bought by Aviance Capital Partners LLC

Aviance Capital Partners LLC lifted its stake in shares of Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) by 0.5% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 10,227 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after buying an additional 50 shares during the quarter. Aviance Capital Partners LLC’s holdings in Mastercard were worth $5,050,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd. lifted its position in Mastercard by 46.4% in the first quarter. China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 14,785 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $7,120,000 after acquiring an additional 4,685 shares during the last quarter. Natixis purchased a new position in Mastercard during the 1st quarter worth approximately $41,839,000. Castle Hook Partners LP acquired a new position in Mastercard during the first quarter worth approximately $36,717,000. MQS Management LLC lifted its stake in Mastercard by 135.3% in the first quarter. MQS Management LLC now owns 2,377 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $1,145,000 after buying an additional 1,367 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Evermay Wealth Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Mastercard by 15.7% in the first quarter. Evermay Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,279 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $616,000 after acquiring an additional 174 shares during the period. 97.28% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other 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 transaction, the chief marketing officer now directly owns 17,118 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,440,885.80. The trade was a 21.49 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, major shareholder Foundation Mastercard sold 90,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $468.80, for a total transaction of $42,192,000.00. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 91,649,308 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $42,965,195,590.40. This trade represents a 0.10 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 99,370 shares of company stock valued at $46,797,168 in the last ninety days. Company insiders own 0.10% of the company’s stock.

Mastercard Price Performance

NYSE:MA opened at $521.63 on Tuesday. The firm has a market cap of $478.77 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 39.46, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.32 and a beta of 1.10. Mastercard Incorporated has a 12-month low of $398.26 and a 12-month high of $534.03. The company has a current ratio of 1.29, a quick ratio of 1.29 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.36. The company’s 50-day moving average is $504.78 and its two-hundred day moving average is $471.95.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The credit services provider reported $3.89 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.73 by $0.16. Mastercard had a net margin of 45.26% and a return on equity of 178.27%. The firm had revenue of $7.37 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.27 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $3.39 earnings per share. Mastercard’s revenue was up 12.8% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts expect that Mastercard Incorporated will post 14.47 EPS for the current year.

Mastercard Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 8th. Investors of record on Wednesday, October 9th were given a $0.66 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, October 9th. This represents a $2.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.51%. Mastercard’s dividend payout ratio is presently 19.97%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

MA has been the subject of several research reports. BNP Paribas downgraded shares of Mastercard from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $470.00 price target for the company. in a research report on Tuesday, September 3rd. William Blair raised Mastercard to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 31st. Argus raised Mastercard to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 1st. Susquehanna lifted their target price on Mastercard from $540.00 to $605.00 and gave the company a “positive” rating in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Finally, Barclays boosted their price target on shares of Mastercard from $536.00 to $576.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 10th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-one have issued a buy rating and three have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Mastercard currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $549.16.

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.