D Orazio & Associates Inc. Acquires 34 Shares of Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA)

D Orazio & Associates Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) by 2.5% in the third quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,405 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 34 shares during the quarter. D Orazio & Associates Inc.’s holdings in Mastercard were worth $694,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the business. Highline Wealth Partners LLC purchased a new position in Mastercard during the 3rd quarter worth $25,000. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL purchased a new position in Mastercard during the 2nd quarter worth $34,000. Fairway Wealth LLC purchased a new position in Mastercard during the 2nd quarter worth $35,000. First Personal Financial Services purchased a new position in Mastercard during the 3rd quarter worth $39,000. Finally, Lowe Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Mastercard by 74.0% during the 3rd quarter. Lowe Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 87 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $43,000 after acquiring an additional 37 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 97.28% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

MA has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Citigroup lifted their price objective on shares of Mastercard from $566.00 to $572.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, November 4th. Compass Point initiated coverage on shares of Mastercard in a report on Wednesday, September 4th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $525.00 price objective on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price target on shares of Mastercard from $500.00 to $526.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, August 1st. Macquarie boosted their price target on shares of Mastercard from $505.00 to $565.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, November 1st. Finally, Susquehanna boosted their price target on shares of Mastercard from $540.00 to $605.00 and gave the stock a “positive” rating in a report on Friday, November 1st. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty have given a buy rating and three have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Mastercard has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $540.17.

Insider Activity

In related news, major shareholder Foundation Mastercard sold 109,000 shares of the company’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 value of $50,952,050.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 91,924,308 shares in the company, valued at approximately $42,970,017,774.60. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. In related news, CMO Venkata R. Madabhushi sold 4,685 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, September 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $489.86, for a total value 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 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, major shareholder Foundation Mastercard sold 109,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $467.45, for a total transaction of $50,952,050.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now 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 ownership of the stock. 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.

Mastercard Price Performance

Shares of MA traded down $7.06 during midday trading on Wednesday, hitting $522.11. 799,624 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,443,651. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $501.55 and a 200-day moving average of $469.88. Mastercard Incorporated has a one year low of $394.76 and a one year high of $534.03. The firm has a market cap of $479.21 billion, a P/E ratio of 39.14, a PEG ratio of 2.32 and a beta of 1.10. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.36, a current ratio of 1.29 and a quick ratio of 1.29.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The credit services provider reported $3.89 earnings per share 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 firm 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 company’s revenue was up 12.8% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Mastercard Incorporated will post 14.45 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Mastercard Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared 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 0.51%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, October 9th. Mastercard’s dividend payout ratio is presently 19.97%.

Mastercard Company 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.