Cetera Investment Advisers Increases Position in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA)

Cetera Investment Advisers lifted its position in shares of Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) by 1.8% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 212,342 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 3,673 shares during the period. Cetera Investment Advisers’ holdings in Mastercard were worth $93,677,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of MA. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in Mastercard by 0.4% during the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 75,584,606 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $36,399,279,000 after buying an additional 330,872 shares during the last quarter. Capital International Investors raised its position in shares of Mastercard by 3.3% during the 4th quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 21,041,685 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $8,974,478,000 after acquiring an additional 676,452 shares in the last quarter. Capital Research Global Investors raised its position in shares of Mastercard by 0.3% during the 1st quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 13,651,904 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $6,574,347,000 after acquiring an additional 43,881 shares in the last quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. lifted its stake in Mastercard by 1.4% during the second quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 5,082,729 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $2,241,297,000 after purchasing an additional 71,569 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Canada Pension Plan Investment Board boosted its holdings in Mastercard by 2.7% in the second quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board now owns 4,327,168 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $1,908,973,000 after purchasing an additional 113,238 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 97.28% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have recently weighed in on MA shares. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price objective on shares of Mastercard from $500.00 to $526.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 1st. Evercore ISI reduced their price target on shares of Mastercard from $540.00 to $525.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, June 25th. William Blair upgraded shares of Mastercard to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 31st. BMO Capital Markets reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $520.00 target price on shares of Mastercard in a research report on Wednesday, August 14th. Finally, Compass Point started coverage on Mastercard in a research report on Wednesday, September 4th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $525.00 target price for the company. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty have assigned a buy rating and three have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Mastercard has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $513.70.

Mastercard Stock Performance

NYSE MA opened at $493.80 on Tuesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $459.04 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 39.25, a PEG ratio of 1.96 and a beta of 1.10. The business’s 50 day moving average is $471.70 and its two-hundred day moving average is $461.86. Mastercard Incorporated has a 12-month low of $359.77 and a 12-month high of $501.80. The company has a current ratio of 1.14, a quick ratio of 1.14 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.95.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 31st. The credit services provider reported $3.59 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.51 by $0.08. Mastercard had a return on equity of 179.78% and a net margin of 46.45%. The firm had revenue of $6.96 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.85 billion. Research analysts expect that Mastercard Incorporated will post 14.29 EPS for the current year.

Mastercard Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 8th. Investors of record on Wednesday, October 9th will be issued a dividend of $0.66 per share. This represents a $2.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.53%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, October 9th. Mastercard’s dividend payout ratio is currently 20.99%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Mastercard

In other news, CFO J. Mehra Sachin sold 13,439 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $455.00, for a total transaction of $6,114,745.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 27,304 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $12,423,320. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. In related news, CFO J. Mehra Sachin sold 13,439 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $455.00, for a total value of $6,114,745.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 27,304 shares in the company, valued at approximately $12,423,320. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, CMO Venkata R. Madabhushi sold 4,685 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, September 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $489.86, for a total transaction of $2,294,994.10. Following the transaction, the chief marketing officer now owns 15,031 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,363,085.66. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders sold 340,809 shares of company stock valued at $159,610,703. Corporate insiders own 0.10% of the company’s stock.

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.