Mastercard Incorporated $MA Shares Bought by Wedbush Securities Inc.

Wedbush Securities Inc. increased its position in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) by 2.9% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 25,851 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 733 shares during the period. Mastercard makes up about 0.5% of Wedbush Securities Inc.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 25th biggest position. Wedbush Securities Inc.’s holdings in Mastercard were worth $14,527,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of MA. Brighton Jones LLC grew its stake in Mastercard by 42.3% in the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 6,824 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $3,594,000 after acquiring an additional 2,028 shares during the last quarter. Financial Gravity Asset Management Inc. acquired a new position in Mastercard during the first quarter worth about $69,000. Hunter Associates Investment Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Mastercard by 17.4% in the first quarter. Hunter Associates Investment Management LLC now owns 595 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $327,000 after purchasing an additional 88 shares in the last quarter. Phillips Financial Management LLC grew its position in shares of Mastercard by 9.5% in the first quarter. Phillips Financial Management LLC now owns 878 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $481,000 after purchasing an additional 76 shares during the last quarter. Finally, MJP Associates Inc. ADV grew its position in shares of Mastercard by 7.4% in the first quarter. MJP Associates Inc. ADV now owns 2,209 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $1,211,000 after purchasing an additional 153 shares during the last quarter. 97.28% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other news, CFO J. Mehra Sachin sold 17,263 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, September 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $591.00, for a total transaction of $10,202,433.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 31,234 shares in the company, valued at $18,459,294. This represents a 35.60% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. 0.09% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Mastercard Stock Down 0.2%

Shares of NYSE:MA opened at $551.98 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 1.16, a quick ratio of 1.16 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.41. The firm has a market cap of $499.00 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 37.22, a PEG ratio of 2.27 and a beta of 0.92. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $572.24 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $568.95. Mastercard Incorporated has a 12-month low of $465.59 and a 12-month high of $601.77.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 30th. The credit services provider reported $4.38 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $4.31 by $0.07. Mastercard had a net margin of 44.93% and a return on equity of 200.01%. The business had revenue of $8.60 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $8.53 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $3.89 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 16.7% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts forecast that Mastercard Incorporated will post 15.91 EPS for the current year.

Mastercard Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 7th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, October 9th were issued a $0.76 dividend. This represents a $3.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.6%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, October 9th. Mastercard’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 19.44%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts recently issued reports on the company. Cowen restated a “buy” rating on shares of Mastercard in a research report on Friday, October 31st. Robert W. Baird raised their price target on Mastercard from $640.00 to $660.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, October 6th. KeyCorp reissued an “overweight” rating and issued a $665.00 price target on shares of Mastercard in a report on Wednesday, October 22nd. UBS Group increased their price objective on Mastercard from $690.00 to $700.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, October 31st. Finally, Macquarie boosted their target price on shares of Mastercard from $655.00 to $660.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, October 31st. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-three have given a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Mastercard currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $649.26.

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.