Algert Global LLC Purchases Shares of 3,119 Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA)

Algert Global LLC purchased a new stake in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) during the third quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 3,119 shares of the credit services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $1,540,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Sarasin & Partners LLP raised its stake in shares of Mastercard by 4.7% in the third quarter. Sarasin & Partners LLP now owns 831,942 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $410,813,000 after acquiring an additional 37,486 shares during the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of Mastercard by 4.8% in the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 3,031,915 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $1,497,160,000 after acquiring an additional 138,842 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its stake in shares of Mastercard by 2.0% in the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 5,010,430 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $2,474,151,000 after acquiring an additional 100,550 shares during the last quarter. SteelPeak Wealth LLC raised its stake in shares of Mastercard by 48.6% during the second quarter. SteelPeak Wealth LLC now owns 4,928 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $2,174,000 after buying an additional 1,612 shares during the last quarter. Finally, OMC Financial Services LTD bought a new stake in shares of Mastercard during the first quarter worth approximately $17,854,000. 97.28% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms recently weighed in on MA. KeyCorp boosted their price target on shares of Mastercard from $515.00 to $580.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Mizuho boosted their price target on shares of Mastercard from $496.00 to $532.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Citigroup boosted their price target on shares of Mastercard from $566.00 to $572.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, November 4th. Bank of America boosted their price target on shares of Mastercard from $480.00 to $509.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 17th. Finally, Argus raised shares of Mastercard to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 1st. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-two have given a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $549.16.

Mastercard Stock Performance

Shares of MA opened at $532.38 on Friday. Mastercard Incorporated has a 12 month low of $404.32 and a 12 month high of $534.03. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $509.57 and a 200 day simple moving average of $475.63. The stock has a market capitalization of $488.63 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 40.27, a PEG ratio of 2.34 and a beta of 1.10. The company has a current ratio of 1.29, a quick ratio of 1.29 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.36.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The credit services provider reported $3.89 EPS 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 business had revenue of $7.37 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $7.27 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $3.39 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 12.8% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts forecast that Mastercard Incorporated will post 14.47 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Mastercard Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 8th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, October 9th were paid a $0.66 dividend. This represents a $2.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.50%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, October 9th. Mastercard’s dividend payout ratio is currently 19.97%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Mastercard

In other Mastercard news, CMO Venkata R. Madabhushi sold 4,685 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, September 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $489.86, for a total value of $2,294,994.10. Following the completion of the sale, the chief marketing officer now owns 15,031 shares in the company, valued at $7,363,085.66. This trade represents a 23.76 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Corporate insiders own 0.10% of the company’s stock.

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.