Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) Shares Bought by West Branch Capital LLC

West Branch Capital LLC raised its position in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) by 4.6% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 6,231 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 275 shares during the period. Mastercard makes up approximately 1.1% of West Branch Capital LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 22nd biggest holding. West Branch Capital LLC’s holdings in Mastercard were worth $3,077,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Mastercard by 0.4% during the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 75,584,606 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $36,399,279,000 after buying an additional 330,872 shares during the period. Capital Research Global Investors lifted its stake in shares of Mastercard by 0.3% during the first quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 13,651,904 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $6,574,347,000 after buying an additional 43,881 shares during the period. Ameriprise Financial Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Mastercard by 1.4% during the second quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 5,082,729 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $2,241,297,000 after buying an additional 71,569 shares during the period. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board lifted its stake in shares of Mastercard by 2.7% during the second quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board now owns 4,327,168 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $1,908,973,000 after buying an additional 113,238 shares during the period. Finally, American Century Companies Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Mastercard by 0.9% during the second quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 4,250,760 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $1,875,266,000 after buying an additional 38,380 shares during the period. 97.28% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Mastercard Price Performance

Shares of MA stock traded up $2.58 on Friday, reaching $516.34. 2,604,684 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,442,889. The company has a market cap of $480.00 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 41.04, a P/E/G ratio of 2.22 and a beta of 1.10. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $486.90 and a 200 day moving average price of $464.10. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.95, a quick ratio of 1.14 and a current ratio of 1.14. Mastercard Incorporated has a 1 year low of $359.77 and a 1 year high of $518.00.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, July 31st. The credit services provider reported $3.59 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.51 by $0.08. The business had revenue of $6.96 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.85 billion. Mastercard had a net margin of 46.45% and a return on equity of 179.78%. Equities research analysts forecast that Mastercard Incorporated will post 14.3 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Mastercard Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 8th. Investors of record on Wednesday, October 9th will be given a dividend of $0.66 per share. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, October 9th. This represents a $2.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.51%. Mastercard’s payout ratio is presently 20.99%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on MA shares. TD Cowen lifted their price objective on shares of Mastercard from $532.00 to $533.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 1st. Evercore ISI lowered their price objective on shares of Mastercard from $540.00 to $525.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, June 25th. KeyCorp boosted their target price on shares of Mastercard from $490.00 to $515.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 1st. Robert W. Baird boosted their target price on shares of Mastercard from $545.00 to $575.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Finally, Susquehanna boosted their target price on shares of Mastercard from $535.00 to $540.00 and gave the company a “positive” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 1st. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eighteen have given a buy rating and three have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Mastercard has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $524.64.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CMO Venkata R. Madabhushi sold 4,685 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, September 20th. The shares were 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. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In related news, CMO Venkata R. Madabhushi sold 4,685 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, September 20th. The shares were 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. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, major shareholder Foundation Mastercard sold 119,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $468.46, for a total transaction of $55,746,740.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 92,033,308 shares in the company, valued at $43,113,923,465.68. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 340,809 shares of company stock worth $159,610,703. 0.10% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.