Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) Shares Acquired by Financial Counselors Inc.

Financial Counselors Inc. increased its position in shares of Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) by 6.4% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 10,716 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 640 shares during the period. Financial Counselors Inc.’s holdings in Mastercard were worth $5,292,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Goldstein Advisors LLC increased its position in Mastercard by 1.3% during the 3rd quarter. Goldstein Advisors LLC now owns 1,516 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $749,000 after buying an additional 20 shares during the period. McLean Asset Management Corp boosted its holdings in Mastercard by 1.3% in the 3rd quarter. McLean Asset Management Corp now owns 1,677 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $834,000 after purchasing an additional 21 shares during the period. Oldfather Financial Services LLC increased its holdings in shares of Mastercard by 2.6% during the third quarter. Oldfather Financial Services LLC now owns 827 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $408,000 after purchasing an additional 21 shares during the period. Transcendent Capital Group LLC raised its position in shares of Mastercard by 4.8% in the third quarter. Transcendent Capital Group LLC now owns 455 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $225,000 after buying an additional 21 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Guerra Pan Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Mastercard by 1.7% in the third quarter. Guerra Pan Advisors LLC now owns 1,225 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $605,000 after buying an additional 21 shares during the period. 97.28% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Mastercard Stock Up 0.7 %

Shares of MA opened at $532.38 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $488.63 billion, a PE ratio of 40.27, a PEG ratio of 2.37 and a beta of 1.10. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $509.57 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $475.63. 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 $404.32 and a 12 month high of $534.03.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The credit services provider reported $3.89 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.73 by $0.16. Mastercard had a return on equity of 178.27% and a net margin of 45.26%. The business had revenue of $7.37 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $7.27 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $3.39 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 12.8% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts anticipate that Mastercard Incorporated will post 14.47 EPS for the current year.

Mastercard Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 8th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, October 9th were given a dividend of $0.66 per share. 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 (DPR) is presently 19.97%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

MA has been the topic of several analyst reports. Compass Point assumed coverage on Mastercard in a report on Wednesday, September 4th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $525.00 target price on the stock. Argus upgraded shares of Mastercard to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 1st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price objective on shares of Mastercard from $593.00 to $580.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, November 1st. KeyCorp upped their target price on Mastercard from $515.00 to $580.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Finally, Macquarie boosted their price target on Mastercard from $505.00 to $565.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, November 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 company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $549.16.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Mastercard news, CMO Venkata R. Madabhushi sold 4,685 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, September 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $489.86, for a total transaction of $2,294,994.10. Following 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 23.76 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. 0.10% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.