Ascent Group LLC Buys 4,212 Shares of Mastercard Incorporated $MA

Ascent Group LLC raised its stake in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) by 17.6% during the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 28,190 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 4,212 shares during the period. Ascent Group LLC’s holdings in Mastercard were worth $16,035,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

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

Mastercard Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:MA opened at $577.33 on Wednesday. The company has a current ratio of 1.12, a quick ratio of 1.12 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.40. Mastercard Incorporated has a 1-year low of $465.59 and a 1-year high of $601.77. The stock has a market capitalization of $518.44 billion, a P/E ratio of 36.91, a P/E/G ratio of 2.27 and a beta of 0.87. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $555.95 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $565.53.

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

Mastercard Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, February 9th. Shareholders of record on Friday, January 9th will be issued a dividend of $0.87 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, January 9th. This represents a $3.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.6%. This is a boost from Mastercard’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.76. Mastercard’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 19.44%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms recently weighed in on MA. UBS Group raised their price target on Mastercard from $690.00 to $700.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, October 31st. Tigress Financial raised their target price on Mastercard from $685.00 to $730.00 and gave the company a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 6th. Hsbc Global Res upgraded shares of Mastercard from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Monday, December 8th. Cowen reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Mastercard in a report on Friday, October 31st. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price objective on shares of Mastercard from $669.00 to $660.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, October 31st. Five analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-one have assigned a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $657.48.

About Mastercard

Mastercard Incorporated is a global payments technology company that operates a network connecting consumers, financial institutions, merchants, governments and businesses in more than 200 countries and territories. The company facilitates electronic payments and transaction processing for credit, debit and prepaid card products carrying the Mastercard brand, while also providing a range of payment-related services to issuers, acquirers and merchants. Its technology and network enable authorization, clearing and settlement of payments and support a broad set of use cases including point-of-sale, e-commerce and mobile payments.

Beyond core transaction processing, Mastercard offers a suite of value-added services such as fraud and risk management, identity and authentication tools, tokenization and digital wallet support, cross-border and commercial payment solutions, and data analytics and consulting services for merchants and financial partners.