Biltmore Family Office LLC Raises Stock Position in Mastercard Incorporated $MA

Biltmore Family Office LLC grew its holdings in shares of Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) by 0.7% during the 2nd quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 2,817 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after buying an additional 20 shares during the period. Biltmore Family Office LLC’s holdings in Mastercard were worth $1,583,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in MA. LGT Financial Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Mastercard during the 2nd quarter valued at about $25,000. Family Legacy Financial Solutions LLC purchased a new stake in Mastercard during the second quarter worth about $26,000. Flaharty Asset Management LLC purchased a new stake in Mastercard during the first quarter worth about $27,000. Keystone Global Partners LLC purchased a new stake in Mastercard during the first quarter worth about $31,000. Finally, IMG Wealth Management Inc. purchased a new stake in Mastercard during the second quarter worth about $31,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 97.28% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Mastercard news, CFO J. Mehra Sachin sold 17,816 shares of Mastercard stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $586.89, for a total transaction of $10,456,032.24. Following the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 31,234 shares in the company, valued at $18,330,922.26. The trade was a 36.32% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.09% of the company’s stock.

Mastercard Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE MA opened at $565.79 on Wednesday. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $578.85 and a 200-day simple moving average of $567.21. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.41, a current ratio of 1.16 and a quick ratio of 1.16. The company has a market cap of $511.48 billion, a PE ratio of 38.15, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.34 and a beta of 0.97. Mastercard Incorporated has a 12 month low of $465.59 and a 12 month high of $601.77.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 31st. The credit services provider reported $4.15 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.05 by $0.10. Mastercard had a return on equity of 200.01% and a net margin of 44.93%.The firm had revenue of $8.13 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.95 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $3.50 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 16.8% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Mastercard Incorporated will post 15.91 earnings per share for the current year.

Mastercard Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 7th. Investors of record on Thursday, October 9th will be given a dividend of $0.76 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, October 9th. This represents a $3.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.5%. Mastercard’s payout ratio is 20.50%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts recently weighed in on MA shares. Wells Fargo & Company upgraded shares of Mastercard to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 22nd. TD Cowen reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $645.00 price target on shares of Mastercard in a research note on Monday, August 11th. Citigroup raised Mastercard to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Thursday, October 23rd. Morgan Stanley increased their price target on Mastercard from $639.00 to $661.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, August 1st. Finally, Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Mastercard in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-two have issued a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Mastercard presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $638.96.

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.