Mastercard Incorporated $MA Shares Purchased by First Merchants Corp

First Merchants Corp lifted its position in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) by 1.0% during the 2nd quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 2,046 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 21 shares during the period. First Merchants Corp’s holdings in Mastercard were worth $1,150,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Eagle Strategies LLC grew its position in Mastercard by 14.5% during the 2nd quarter. Eagle Strategies LLC now owns 577 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $324,000 after purchasing an additional 73 shares during the period. Ignite Planners LLC grew its position in Mastercard by 1.2% during the 2nd quarter. Ignite Planners LLC now owns 4,289 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $2,371,000 after purchasing an additional 52 shares during the period. Valmark Advisers Inc. grew its position in Mastercard by 3.4% during the 2nd quarter. Valmark Advisers Inc. now owns 3,753 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $2,109,000 after purchasing an additional 123 shares during the period. LifeSteps Financial Inc. grew its position in Mastercard by 11.6% during the 2nd quarter. LifeSteps Financial Inc. now owns 1,241 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $698,000 after purchasing an additional 129 shares during the period. Finally, Lansing Street Advisors acquired a new stake in Mastercard during the 2nd quarter worth about $228,000. 97.28% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Mastercard Price Performance

Shares of Mastercard stock opened at $563.77 on Friday. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $581.06 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $562.68. Mastercard Incorporated has a 12 month low of $465.59 and a 12 month high of $601.77. The stock has a market capitalization of $509.65 billion, a P/E ratio of 38.02, a PEG ratio of 2.36 and a beta of 0.97. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.41, a current ratio of 1.16 and a quick ratio of 1.16.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA) last announced its earnings results 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. Mastercard had a return on equity of 200.01% and a net margin of 44.93%.The business had revenue of $8.13 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $7.95 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $3.50 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 16.8% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts predict that Mastercard Incorporated will post 15.91 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Mastercard Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 7th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, October 9th will be issued a dividend of $0.76 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend 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%.

Insider Activity at Mastercard

In other Mastercard news, CFO J. Mehra Sachin sold 17,816 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $586.89, for a total transaction of $10,456,032.24. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 31,234 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $18,330,922.26. This represents a 36.32% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. 0.09% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have weighed in on MA. Royal Bank Of Canada increased their price target on Mastercard from $650.00 to $656.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, August 1st. Seaport Res Ptn raised Mastercard from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Monday, July 14th. TD Cowen restated a “buy” rating and set a $645.00 target price on shares of Mastercard in a research report on Monday, August 11th. Wolfe Research set a $655.00 target price on Mastercard in a research report on Monday, June 23rd. Finally, Truist Financial dropped their target price on Mastercard from $640.00 to $612.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, July 17th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-five have given a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $634.04.

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.