GAMMA Investing LLC Purchases 1,060 Shares of Mastercard Incorporated $MA

GAMMA Investing LLC grew its position in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) by 6.3% in the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 17,841 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,060 shares during the period. Mastercard comprises approximately 0.6% of GAMMA Investing LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 25th largest position. GAMMA Investing LLC’s holdings in Mastercard were worth $10,148,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in MA. LGT Financial Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Mastercard in the 2nd quarter valued at $25,000. Family Legacy Financial Solutions LLC bought a new position in shares of Mastercard during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $26,000. Flaharty Asset Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Mastercard in the first quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Evolution Wealth Management Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Mastercard during the 2nd quarter worth about $29,000. Finally, IMG Wealth Management Inc. bought a new position in shares of Mastercard in the 2nd quarter valued at about $31,000. 97.28% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on MA shares. KeyCorp restated an “overweight” rating and set a $665.00 price objective on shares of Mastercard in a research note on Wednesday, October 22nd. Royal Bank Of Canada upped their price target on shares of Mastercard from $645.00 to $654.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, October 31st. Tigress Financial raised their price objective on Mastercard from $685.00 to $730.00 and gave the stock a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 6th. Robert W. Baird raised their target price on shares of Mastercard from $640.00 to $660.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, October 6th. Finally, Macquarie raised their target price on Mastercard from $655.00 to $660.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, October 31st. Five analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-two have given a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Mastercard currently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $654.81.

Mastercard Trading Down 0.5%

Shares of Mastercard stock opened at $569.03 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.40, a quick ratio of 1.12 and a current ratio of 1.12. Mastercard Incorporated has a 52 week low of $465.59 and a 52 week high of $601.77. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $553.96 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $566.27. The stock has a market capitalization of $510.98 billion, a PE ratio of 36.38, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.25 and a beta of 0.87.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 30th. The credit services provider reported $4.38 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.31 by $0.07. Mastercard had a return on equity of 202.03% and a net margin of 45.28%.The business had revenue of $8.60 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $8.53 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $3.89 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 16.7% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Mastercard Incorporated will post 15.91 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Mastercard Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, February 9th. Shareholders of record on Friday, January 9th will be paid a $0.87 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, January 9th. This represents a $3.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.6%. This is an increase from Mastercard’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.76. Mastercard’s dividend payout ratio is 22.25%.

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.