Meridian Wealth Management LLC Has $7.40 Million Stock Holdings in Mastercard Incorporated $MA

Meridian Wealth Management LLC increased its stake in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) by 5.3% during the second quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 13,172 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 665 shares during the period. Meridian Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in Mastercard were worth $7,402,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. LGT Financial Advisors LLC bought a new position in Mastercard during the second quarter worth $25,000. Family Legacy Financial Solutions LLC acquired a new position in shares of Mastercard during the second quarter valued at about $26,000. Flaharty Asset Management LLC bought a new stake in Mastercard during the first quarter worth $27,000. Keystone Global Partners LLC purchased a new position in Mastercard during the first quarter worth about $31,000. Finally, IMG Wealth Management Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Mastercard during the second quarter valued at approximately $31,000. 97.28% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Mastercard Trading Down 1.8%

Shares of Mastercard stock opened at $545.31 on Friday. 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 Incorporated has a 1 year low of $465.59 and a 1 year high of $601.77. The firm has a market cap of $489.68 billion, a PE ratio of 36.77, a PEG ratio of 2.27 and a beta of 0.92. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $568.49 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $569.72.

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, topping the consensus estimate of $4.31 by $0.07. Mastercard had a net margin of 44.93% and a return on equity of 200.01%. The company had revenue of $8.60 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $8.53 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $3.89 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 16.7% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts expect that Mastercard Incorporated will post 15.91 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Mastercard Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 7th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, October 9th were paid a $0.76 dividend. 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 dividend payout ratio is 19.44%.

Insider Activity at Mastercard

In related news, CFO J. Mehra Sachin sold 17,816 shares of Mastercard stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $586.89, for a total value of $10,456,032.24. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 31,234 shares in the company, valued at $18,330,922.26. This trade represents a 36.32% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.09% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms recently issued reports on MA. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price objective on shares of Mastercard from $669.00 to $660.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, October 31st. Robert W. Baird lifted their price objective on Mastercard from $640.00 to $660.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, October 6th. Compass Point set a $620.00 price objective on shares of Mastercard and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, October 31st. TD Cowen reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $645.00 price target on shares of Mastercard in a research report on Monday, August 11th. Finally, Citigroup raised shares of Mastercard to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Thursday, October 23rd. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-two have issued a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average target price 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.