Sterling Capital Management LLC Buys 8,060 Shares of Mastercard Incorporated $MA

Sterling Capital Management LLC raised its position in shares of Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) by 25.1% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 40,221 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after buying an additional 8,060 shares during the period. Sterling Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Mastercard were worth $22,602,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. LGT Financial Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Mastercard during the 2nd quarter valued at about $25,000. Family Legacy Financial Solutions LLC purchased a new stake in Mastercard in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $26,000. Flaharty Asset Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Mastercard in the 1st quarter worth approximately $27,000. Keystone Global Partners LLC purchased a new position in shares of Mastercard during the first quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Finally, IMG Wealth Management Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Mastercard during the second quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Institutional investors own 97.28% of the company’s stock.

Mastercard Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE MA opened at $552.73 on Friday. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $573.12 and its 200-day moving average price is $568.66. Mastercard Incorporated has a 52-week low of $465.59 and a 52-week high of $601.77. The company has a market cap of $499.67 billion, a PE ratio of 37.27, a PEG ratio of 2.27 and a beta of 0.92. The company has a quick ratio of 1.16, a current ratio of 1.16 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.41.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 30th. The credit services provider reported $4.38 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates 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 for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $8.53 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $3.89 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 16.7% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts anticipate that Mastercard Incorporated will post 15.91 EPS for the current year.

Mastercard Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 7th. Investors of record on Thursday, October 9th will be issued a $0.76 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, October 9th. This represents a $3.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.5%. Mastercard’s payout ratio is presently 19.44%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on MA shares. KeyCorp reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $665.00 target price on shares of Mastercard in a research note on Wednesday, October 22nd. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft initiated coverage on Mastercard in a research report on Thursday, July 17th. They set a “buy” rating and a $650.00 price objective on the stock. Tigress Financial increased their target price on Mastercard from $685.00 to $730.00 and gave the stock a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Thursday. Cowen restated a “buy” rating on shares of Mastercard in a research note on Friday, October 31st. Finally, UBS Group lifted their price target on Mastercard from $690.00 to $700.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, October 31st. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-three have given a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $649.26.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Mastercard news, CFO J. Mehra Sachin sold 17,263 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the chief financial officer owned 31,234 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $18,459,294. This represents a 35.60% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.09% of the company’s stock.

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.