Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) Shares Bought by Blair William & Co. IL

Blair William & Co. IL lifted its stake in shares of Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) by 0.0% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 1,046,742 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 120 shares during the period. Mastercard accounts for about 1.4% of Blair William & Co. IL’s portfolio, making the stock its 12th largest holding. Blair William & Co. IL’s holdings in Mastercard were worth $461,781,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other large investors have also made changes to their positions in MA. Swedbank AB acquired a new position in Mastercard in the first quarter valued at approximately $660,652,000. PineStone Asset Management Inc. raised its position in Mastercard by 145.6% in the second quarter. PineStone Asset Management Inc. now owns 1,777,468 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $784,148,000 after purchasing an additional 1,053,616 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Mastercard by 1.0% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 75,253,734 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $32,096,470,000 after purchasing an additional 742,076 shares during the last quarter. Capital International Investors lifted its stake in shares of Mastercard by 3.3% in the 4th quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 21,041,685 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $8,974,478,000 after purchasing an additional 676,452 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Capital Research Global Investors grew its holdings in shares of Mastercard by 4.7% during the 4th quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 13,608,023 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $5,803,956,000 after purchasing an additional 605,909 shares during the period. 97.28% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have commented on MA. Compass Point began coverage on shares of Mastercard in a research report on Wednesday, September 4th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $525.00 target price on the stock. William Blair upgraded shares of Mastercard to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 31st. Bank of America increased their price objective on shares of Mastercard from $480.00 to $509.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday. Evercore ISI cut their target price on Mastercard from $540.00 to $525.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, June 25th. Finally, Citigroup raised their price target on Mastercard from $528.00 to $538.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 1st. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-one have given a buy rating and three have given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $512.08.

Mastercard Trading Up 0.7 %

Shares of NYSE:MA opened at $501.22 on Wednesday. Mastercard Incorporated has a 52 week low of $359.77 and a 52 week high of $501.74. The company’s 50 day moving average is $462.83 and its two-hundred day moving average is $460.52. The company has a market cap of $465.94 billion, a PE ratio of 39.84, a P/E/G ratio of 1.92 and a beta of 1.10. The company has a current ratio of 1.14, a quick ratio of 1.14 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.95.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, July 31st. The credit services provider reported $3.59 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.51 by $0.08. The firm had revenue of $6.96 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.85 billion. Mastercard had a return on equity of 179.78% and a net margin of 46.45%. Equities analysts predict that Mastercard Incorporated will post 14.29 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Mastercard Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 8th. Investors of record on Wednesday, October 9th will be paid a dividend of $0.66 per share. This represents a $2.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.53%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, October 9th. Mastercard’s payout ratio is 20.99%.

Insider Activity at Mastercard

In other Mastercard news, insider Craig Vosburg sold 9,028 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, June 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $451.06, for a total transaction of $4,072,169.68. Following the sale, the insider now owns 58,940 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $26,585,476.40. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other Mastercard 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 transaction 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. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, insider Craig Vosburg sold 9,028 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, June 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $451.06, for a total value of $4,072,169.68. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 58,940 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $26,585,476.40. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 725,152 shares of company stock valued at $334,186,128 over the last three months. 0.10% of the stock is owned by corporate 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.