Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. Takes $6.85 Million Position in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA)

Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. purchased a new position in shares of Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) in the 2nd quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor purchased 15,527 shares of the credit services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $6,850,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of MA. Westend Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in Mastercard in the first quarter worth $27,000. Palisade Asset Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Mastercard during the 1st quarter worth $27,000. VitalStone Financial LLC increased its holdings in shares of Mastercard by 300.0% in the 4th quarter. VitalStone Financial LLC now owns 60 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 45 shares in the last quarter. Scarborough Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Mastercard in the fourth quarter valued at about $28,000. Finally, Beaird Harris Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in Mastercard during the fourth quarter worth about $30,000. 97.28% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have issued reports on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada increased their target price on shares of Mastercard from $500.00 to $526.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, August 1st. Argus raised Mastercard to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Thursday, August 1st. Compass Point started coverage on Mastercard in a research report on Wednesday, September 4th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $525.00 price target for the company. Citigroup boosted their price objective on shares of Mastercard from $528.00 to $538.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 1st. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on shares of Mastercard from $500.00 to $570.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 20th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-one have given a buy rating and three have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $512.08.

Insider Transactions at Mastercard

In other Mastercard news, major shareholder Foundation Mastercard sold 131,000 shares of Mastercard stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $459.46, for a total transaction of $60,189,260.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 92,426,308 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $42,466,191,473.68. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. In other news, CMO Venkata R. Madabhushi sold 4,685 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, September 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $493.10, for a total value of $2,310,173.50. Following the completion of the sale, the chief marketing officer now owns 17,118 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,440,885.80. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, major shareholder Foundation Mastercard sold 131,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $459.46, for a total value of $60,189,260.00. Following the sale, the insider now owns 92,426,308 shares in the company, valued at $42,466,191,473.68. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 605,124 shares of company stock worth $280,045,189. 0.10% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Mastercard Price Performance

Mastercard stock opened at $492.74 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.95, a quick ratio of 1.14 and a current ratio of 1.14. The company has a market cap of $458.06 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 39.17, a PEG ratio of 1.92 and a beta of 1.10. Mastercard Incorporated has a 1 year low of $359.77 and a 1 year high of $501.80. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $466.24 and a 200 day moving average price of $461.11.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA) last released its quarterly earnings data 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. Mastercard had a return on equity of 179.78% and a net margin of 46.45%. The business had revenue of $6.96 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.85 billion. Sell-side analysts predict that Mastercard Incorporated will post 14.29 earnings per share for the current year.

Mastercard Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 8th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, October 9th will be paid a $0.66 dividend. This represents a $2.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.54%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, October 9th. Mastercard’s dividend payout ratio is currently 20.99%.

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.