Cetera Investment Advisers Increases Holdings in Mastercard Incorporated $MA

Cetera Investment Advisers raised its stake in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) by 2.9% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 246,114 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 6,975 shares during the period. Cetera Investment Advisers’ holdings in Mastercard were worth $138,301,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Accredited Investors Inc. grew its position in Mastercard by 2.6% during the 1st quarter. Accredited Investors Inc. now owns 718 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $394,000 after purchasing an additional 18 shares during the last quarter. Wealthstream Advisors Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Mastercard by 2.9% in the first quarter. Wealthstream Advisors Inc. now owns 632 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $347,000 after buying an additional 18 shares in the last quarter. Pinion Investment Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Mastercard by 0.8% during the second quarter. Pinion Investment Advisors LLC now owns 2,272 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $1,276,000 after buying an additional 18 shares during the last quarter. KRS Capital Management LLC increased its position in shares of Mastercard by 0.6% during the second quarter. KRS Capital Management LLC now owns 2,848 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $1,601,000 after acquiring an additional 18 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Nvest Financial LLC raised its holdings in Mastercard by 1.2% in the 2nd quarter. Nvest Financial LLC now owns 1,505 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $846,000 after acquiring an additional 18 shares during the last quarter. 97.28% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Mastercard Price Performance

NYSE MA opened at $545.31 on Friday. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $568.49 and a 200-day moving average price of $569.72. Mastercard Incorporated has a 52 week low of $465.59 and a 52 week high of $601.77. The company has a quick ratio of 1.16, a current ratio of 1.16 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.41. The firm has a market capitalization of $489.68 billion, a P/E ratio of 36.77, a PEG ratio of 2.27 and a beta of 0.92.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 30th. The credit services provider reported $4.38 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.31 by $0.07. The company had revenue of $8.60 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $8.53 billion. Mastercard had a net margin of 44.93% and a return on equity of 200.01%. The firm’s revenue was up 16.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $3.89 earnings per share. Equities research analysts anticipate that Mastercard Incorporated will post 15.91 earnings per share for the current year.

Mastercard Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 7th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, October 9th were given a dividend of $0.76 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, October 9th. This represents a $3.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.6%. Mastercard’s payout ratio is presently 19.44%.

Insider Activity at Mastercard

In related news, CFO J. Mehra Sachin sold 17,263 shares of Mastercard stock in a transaction on Tuesday, September 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $591.00, for a total transaction of $10,202,433.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 31,234 shares in the company, valued at approximately $18,459,294. The trade was a 35.60% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. 0.09% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have commented on MA. The Goldman Sachs Group reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $713.00 target price on shares of Mastercard in a research note on Thursday, October 30th. Royal Bank Of Canada upped their price target on Mastercard from $645.00 to $654.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, October 31st. KeyCorp reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $665.00 price objective on shares of Mastercard in a report on Wednesday, October 22nd. Wall Street Zen raised Mastercard from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, October 18th. Finally, Macquarie raised their price target on shares of Mastercard from $655.00 to $660.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, October 31st. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-two have issued a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $652.50.

Mastercard 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.