Larson Financial Group LLC Increases Stake in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA)

Larson Financial Group LLC increased its position in shares of Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) by 49.3% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 2,215 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 731 shares during the period. Larson Financial Group LLC’s holdings in Mastercard were worth $1,094,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in MA. Family Capital Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of Mastercard by 5.7% during the third quarter. Family Capital Management Inc. now owns 858 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $424,000 after purchasing an additional 46 shares during the last quarter. Algert Global LLC bought a new stake in Mastercard during the 3rd quarter valued at about $1,540,000. Canopy Partners LLC boosted its position in Mastercard by 1.1% in the 3rd quarter. Canopy Partners LLC now owns 4,386 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $2,166,000 after buying an additional 48 shares during the period. Kingsview Wealth Management LLC increased its holdings in Mastercard by 10.8% during the 3rd quarter. Kingsview Wealth Management LLC now owns 68,959 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $34,052,000 after purchasing an additional 6,732 shares during the period. Finally, Cerity Partners LLC raised its position in Mastercard by 9.1% during the 3rd quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 373,570 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $184,469,000 after purchasing an additional 31,153 shares in the last quarter. 97.28% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Mastercard Stock Up 1.1 %

Mastercard stock opened at $520.86 on Monday. Mastercard Incorporated has a fifty-two week low of $404.32 and a fifty-two week high of $534.03. The company has a market cap of $478.06 billion, a PE ratio of 39.40, a PEG ratio of 2.32 and a beta of 1.10. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.36, a quick ratio of 1.29 and a current ratio of 1.29. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $506.91 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $473.83.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The credit services provider reported $3.89 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.73 by $0.16. Mastercard had a net margin of 45.26% and a return on equity of 178.27%. The company had revenue of $7.37 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.27 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $3.39 EPS. Mastercard’s quarterly revenue was up 12.8% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts anticipate that Mastercard Incorporated will post 14.47 EPS for the current year.

Mastercard Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 8th. Investors of record on Wednesday, October 9th were given a dividend of $0.66 per share. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, October 9th. This represents a $2.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.51%. Mastercard’s dividend payout ratio is presently 19.97%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Mastercard

In other Mastercard news, CMO Venkata R. Madabhushi sold 4,685 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, September 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $489.86, for a total value of $2,294,994.10. Following the sale, the chief marketing officer now owns 15,031 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,363,085.66. This represents a 23.76 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. 0.10% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

MA has been the topic of several research reports. Compass Point assumed coverage on Mastercard in a research note on Wednesday, September 4th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $525.00 price target on the stock. Barclays raised their target price on shares of Mastercard from $536.00 to $576.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 10th. BNP Paribas cut shares of Mastercard from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $470.00 price target for the company. in a research report on Tuesday, September 3rd. Royal Bank of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $572.00 price objective on shares of Mastercard in a report on Thursday, November 14th. Finally, Mizuho upped their target price on Mastercard from $496.00 to $532.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, November 1st. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-one have issued a buy rating and three have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $549.16.

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.