KBC Group NV Boosts Position in Mastercard Incorporated $MA

KBC Group NV boosted its position in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) by 64.0% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 342,058 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 133,511 shares during the period. KBC Group NV’s holdings in Mastercard were worth $192,215,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. ORG Partners LLC lifted its holdings in Mastercard by 73.2% in the 2nd quarter. ORG Partners LLC now owns 698 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $394,000 after purchasing an additional 295 shares in the last quarter. Ethos Financial Group LLC grew its stake in Mastercard by 19.5% during the first quarter. Ethos Financial Group LLC now owns 3,174 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $1,683,000 after acquiring an additional 518 shares in the last quarter. Curio Wealth LLC grew its stake in Mastercard by 22,400.0% during the second quarter. Curio Wealth LLC now owns 225 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $126,000 after acquiring an additional 224 shares in the last quarter. Wheelhouse Advisory Group LLC increased its holdings in Mastercard by 4.4% in the 2nd quarter. Wheelhouse Advisory Group LLC now owns 1,336 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $751,000 after acquiring an additional 56 shares during the last quarter. Finally, SeaBridge Investment Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Mastercard by 4.3% in the 2nd quarter. SeaBridge Investment Advisors LLC now owns 6,463 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $3,632,000 after purchasing an additional 264 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 97.28% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Wall Street Zen upgraded Mastercard from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, October 18th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft began coverage on Mastercard in a research note on Thursday, July 17th. They set a “buy” rating and a $650.00 price target for the company. Royal Bank Of Canada lifted their price objective on Mastercard from $645.00 to $654.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, October 31st. KeyCorp reiterated an “overweight” rating and set a $665.00 target price on shares of Mastercard in a research report on Wednesday, October 22nd. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $713.00 target price on shares of Mastercard in a report on Thursday, October 30th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-three have assigned a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $649.26.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CFO J. Mehra Sachin sold 17,263 shares of Mastercard stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $591.00, for a total transaction of $10,202,433.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer owned 31,234 shares in the company, valued at $18,459,294. This trade represents a 35.60% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. 0.09% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Mastercard Stock Up 0.9%

Shares of NYSE:MA opened at $557.93 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.41, a current ratio of 1.16 and a quick ratio of 1.16. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $570.69 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $569.80. Mastercard Incorporated has a 1 year low of $465.59 and a 1 year high of $601.77. The firm has a market capitalization of $504.38 billion, a PE ratio of 37.62, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.27 and a beta of 0.92.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 30th. The credit services provider reported $4.38 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $4.31 by $0.07. Mastercard had a return on equity of 200.01% and a net margin of 44.93%.The company had revenue of $8.60 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $8.53 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $3.89 EPS. Mastercard’s quarterly revenue was up 16.7% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts predict that Mastercard Incorporated will post 15.91 EPS for the current year.

Mastercard Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 7th. Investors of record on Thursday, October 9th were paid a $0.76 dividend. This represents a $3.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.5%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, October 9th. Mastercard’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 19.44%.

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.