Mastercard Incorporated $MA is Russell Investments Group Ltd.’s 8th Largest Position

Russell Investments Group Ltd. grew its stake in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) by 2.6% during the second quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 1,900,566 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 49,027 shares during the quarter. Mastercard makes up 1.4% of Russell Investments Group Ltd.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 8th biggest position. Russell Investments Group Ltd.’s holdings in Mastercard were worth $1,065,397,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. LGT Financial Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Mastercard during the 2nd quarter worth $25,000. Family Legacy Financial Solutions LLC bought a new position in shares of Mastercard during the 2nd quarter worth $26,000. Flaharty Asset Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Mastercard during the first quarter valued at $27,000. Keystone Global Partners LLC purchased a new position in shares of Mastercard during the first quarter valued at $31,000. Finally, IMG Wealth Management Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Mastercard in the second quarter valued at about $31,000. Institutional investors own 97.28% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have commented on MA. Citigroup raised shares of Mastercard to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 23rd. Cowen reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Mastercard in a research note on Friday, October 31st. Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Mastercard in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. Macquarie upped their target price on Mastercard from $655.00 to $660.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, October 31st. Finally, Robert W. Baird lifted their price target on Mastercard from $640.00 to $660.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, October 6th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-two have given a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $652.50.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Mastercard news, CFO J. Mehra Sachin sold 17,263 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 transaction, the chief financial officer owned 31,234 shares in the company, valued at approximately $18,459,294. This represents a 35.60% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.09% of the company’s stock.

Mastercard Stock Performance

Shares of MA opened at $546.50 on Wednesday. The company has a current ratio of 1.16, a quick ratio of 1.16 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.41. The firm has a market cap of $490.75 billion, a PE ratio of 36.85, a P/E/G ratio of 2.27 and a beta of 0.92. Mastercard Incorporated has a 12 month low of $465.59 and a 12 month high of $601.77. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $561.57 and a 200-day moving average price of $568.80.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, October 30th. The credit services provider reported $4.38 earnings per share (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 analyst estimates of $8.53 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $3.89 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 16.7% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts predict that Mastercard Incorporated will post 15.91 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Mastercard Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 7th. Investors of record on Thursday, October 9th were paid a $0.76 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, October 9th. This represents a $3.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.6%. Mastercard’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 19.44%.

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.