Mastercard Incorporated $MA Shares Acquired by Embree Financial Group

Embree Financial Group boosted its position in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) by 180.7% in the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 3,102 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,997 shares during the period. Embree Financial Group’s holdings in Mastercard were worth $1,764,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

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

Mastercard Trading Up 0.1%

Mastercard stock opened at $565.88 on Friday. Mastercard Incorporated has a 52 week low of $465.59 and a 52 week high of $601.77. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.40, a quick ratio of 1.12 and a current ratio of 1.12. The firm has a market capitalization of $508.16 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 36.18, a P/E/G ratio of 2.22 and a beta of 0.87. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $553.51 and a 200 day moving average price of $566.13.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA) last released its 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. The company had revenue of $8.60 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $8.53 billion. Mastercard had a return on equity of 202.03% and a net margin of 45.28%.The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 16.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $3.89 earnings per share. Research analysts forecast that Mastercard Incorporated will post 15.91 EPS for the current year.

Mastercard Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, February 9th. Investors of record on Friday, January 9th will be paid a $0.87 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend 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 (DPR) is currently 22.25%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms recently commented on MA. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Mastercard in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. Evercore ISI set a $610.00 price target on Mastercard in a report on Friday, December 12th. Robert W. Baird increased their price objective on Mastercard from $640.00 to $660.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, October 6th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their target price on Mastercard from $669.00 to $660.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, October 31st. Finally, Wall Street Zen lowered Mastercard from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Sunday, December 14th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-one have assigned a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $657.48.

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.