Mastercard Incorporated $MA Shares Acquired by Proffitt & Goodson Inc.

Proffitt & Goodson Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) by 22.6% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 141 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after buying an additional 26 shares during the period. Proffitt & Goodson Inc.’s holdings in Mastercard were worth $79,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the business. Sax Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Mastercard by 9.2% during the second quarter. Sax Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 4,508 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $2,533,000 after buying an additional 381 shares during the period. Wheelhouse Advisory Group LLC boosted its stake in Mastercard by 4.4% during the 2nd quarter. Wheelhouse Advisory Group LLC now owns 1,336 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $751,000 after purchasing an additional 56 shares in the last quarter. First Financial Group Corp boosted its stake in Mastercard by 33.5% during the 2nd quarter. First Financial Group Corp now owns 836 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $470,000 after purchasing an additional 210 shares in the last quarter. Canopy Partners LLC boosted its stake in Mastercard by 3.4% during the 2nd quarter. Canopy Partners LLC now owns 4,765 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $2,678,000 after purchasing an additional 158 shares in the last quarter. Finally, SGL Investment Advisors Inc. boosted its stake in Mastercard by 2.1% during the 2nd quarter. SGL Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 12,378 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $6,962,000 after purchasing an additional 258 shares in the last quarter. 97.28% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have issued reports on MA. KeyCorp increased their price target on Mastercard from $635.00 to $660.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, August 1st. 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. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on Mastercard from $625.00 to $650.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, August 1st. Seaport Res Ptn raised Mastercard from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday, July 14th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada increased their price target on Mastercard from $650.00 to $656.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, August 1st. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-five have assigned a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $634.04.

Insider Activity

In other news, CFO J. Mehra Sachin sold 17,263 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, September 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $591.00, for a total value 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 represents 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 available at this link. 0.09% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Mastercard Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:MA opened at $579.24 on Wednesday. Mastercard Incorporated has a one year low of $465.59 and a one year high of $601.77. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $580.78 and a 200-day moving average of $562.45. The company has a market capitalization of $523.64 billion, a PE ratio of 39.06, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.37 and a beta of 0.97. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.41, a quick ratio of 1.16 and a current ratio of 1.16.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 31st. The credit services provider reported $4.15 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.05 by $0.10. The company had revenue of $8.13 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.95 billion. Mastercard had a return on equity of 200.01% and a net margin of 44.93%.The company’s quarterly revenue was up 16.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $3.50 EPS. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Mastercard Incorporated will post 15.91 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Mastercard Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 7th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, October 9th will be issued a $0.76 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, October 9th. This represents a $3.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.5%. Mastercard’s dividend payout ratio is presently 20.50%.

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.