Empower Advisory Group LLC Raises Stock Position in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA)

Empower Advisory Group LLC boosted its stake in shares of Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) by 2.0% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 419,029 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 8,021 shares during the period. Empower Advisory Group LLC’s holdings in Mastercard were worth $206,916,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Highline Wealth Partners LLC purchased a new stake in Mastercard during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $25,000. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL acquired a new stake in Mastercard during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $34,000. Fairway Wealth LLC acquired a new stake in Mastercard during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $35,000. First Personal Financial Services acquired a new stake in Mastercard during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $39,000. Finally, Lowe Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Mastercard by 74.0% during the 3rd quarter. Lowe Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 87 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $43,000 after acquiring an additional 37 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 97.28% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have commented on the stock. Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on shares of Mastercard from $540.00 to $544.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, November 4th. William Blair upgraded shares of Mastercard to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 31st. Susquehanna lifted their price objective on shares of Mastercard from $540.00 to $605.00 and gave the company a “positive” rating in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Bank of America lifted their price objective on shares of Mastercard from $480.00 to $509.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 17th. Finally, Macquarie boosted their target price on shares of Mastercard from $505.00 to $565.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty have issued a buy rating and three have issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $540.17.

Insider Activity at Mastercard

In other Mastercard 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 value of $2,310,173.50. Following the transaction, the chief marketing officer now owns 17,118 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,440,885.80. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. 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 owns 17,118 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,440,885.80. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, major shareholder Foundation Mastercard sold 109,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $467.45, for a total transaction of $50,952,050.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 91,924,308 shares in the company, valued at approximately $42,970,017,774.60. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 327,370 shares of company stock valued at $153,495,958. 0.10% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Mastercard Trading Down 0.2 %

Shares of MA opened at $529.17 on Wednesday. The company has a current ratio of 1.29, a quick ratio of 1.29 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.36. Mastercard Incorporated has a 12-month low of $393.02 and a 12-month high of $534.03. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $500.61 and a 200 day moving average price of $469.41. The firm has a market capitalization of $485.69 billion, a P/E ratio of 40.03, a P/E/G ratio of 2.32 and a beta of 1.10.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 31st. The credit services provider reported $3.89 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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 during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.27 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $3.39 earnings per share. Mastercard’s quarterly revenue was up 12.8% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts forecast that Mastercard Incorporated will post 14.45 EPS for the current year.

Mastercard Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 8th. Investors of record on Wednesday, October 9th were issued a $0.66 dividend. This represents a $2.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.50%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, October 9th. Mastercard’s dividend payout ratio is currently 19.97%.

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.