Creative Financial Designs Inc. ADV Grows Stake in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA)

Creative Financial Designs Inc. ADV raised its stake in shares of Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) by 20.5% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 511 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 87 shares during the period. Creative Financial Designs Inc. ADV’s holdings in Mastercard were worth $252,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Principal Securities Inc. raised its holdings in Mastercard by 4.5% during the 3rd quarter. Principal Securities Inc. now owns 27,701 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $13,679,000 after buying an additional 1,185 shares during the period. Stephens Inc. AR raised its stake in shares of Mastercard by 2.3% in the third quarter. Stephens Inc. AR now owns 89,267 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $44,080,000 after acquiring an additional 2,033 shares during the period. Oak Ridge Investments LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Mastercard by 7.4% in the 3rd quarter. Oak Ridge Investments LLC now owns 34,018 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $16,798,000 after acquiring an additional 2,336 shares during the last quarter. Reston Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Mastercard during the 3rd quarter worth about $109,000. Finally, O ROURKE & COMPANY Inc bought a new position in Mastercard during the 3rd quarter valued at about $246,000. 97.28% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Mastercard Trading Up 1.7 %

NYSE:MA opened at $508.08 on Monday. The stock has a market capitalization of $469.38 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 38.43, a PEG ratio of 2.21 and a beta of 1.10. Mastercard Incorporated has a 52 week low of $378.48 and a 52 week high of $527.90. The company has a quick ratio of 1.14, a current ratio of 1.29 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.36. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $495.77 and a 200 day moving average of $466.94.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 31st. The credit services provider reported $3.89 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.73 by $0.16. Mastercard had a return on equity of 178.27% and a net margin of 45.26%. The firm had revenue of $7.37 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.27 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $3.39 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 12.8% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Mastercard Incorporated will post 14.35 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Mastercard Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 8th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, October 9th will be issued a dividend of $0.66 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, October 9th. This represents a $2.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.52%. Mastercard’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 19.97%.

Insider Activity 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 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $493.10, for a total transaction of $2,310,173.50. Following the transaction, the chief marketing officer now owns 17,118 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,440,885.80. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other Mastercard news, CMO Venkata R. Madabhushi sold 4,685 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, September 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $493.10, for a total transaction of $2,310,173.50. Following the sale, the chief marketing officer now owns 17,118 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,440,885.80. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, major shareholder Foundation Mastercard sold 119,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $468.46, for a total value of $55,746,740.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 92,033,308 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $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. Insiders sold 327,370 shares of company stock valued at $153,495,958 in the last three months. 0.10% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

MA has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Compass Point initiated coverage on Mastercard in a research report on Wednesday, September 4th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $525.00 target price for the company. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upped their price objective on Mastercard from $510.00 to $580.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday. TD Cowen lifted their target price on Mastercard from $532.00 to $533.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 1st. Bank of America upped their price target on shares of Mastercard from $480.00 to $509.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, September 17th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $520.00 price objective on shares of Mastercard in a report on Wednesday, August 14th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty have issued a buy rating and three have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $537.92.

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.