D.A. Davidson & CO. Buys 993 Shares of Mastercard Incorporated $MA

D.A. Davidson & CO. boosted its position in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) by 3.1% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 33,443 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 993 shares during the period. D.A. Davidson & CO.’s holdings in Mastercard were worth $19,023,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

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

Mastercard Stock Performance

Shares of MA opened at $568.85 on Tuesday. Mastercard Incorporated has a 12-month low of $465.59 and a 12-month high of $601.77. The company has a current ratio of 1.12, a quick ratio of 1.12 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.40. The company has a market cap of $510.83 billion, a PE ratio of 36.37, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.91 and a beta of 0.86. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $555.64 and a 200-day moving average price of $565.94.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA) last announced its earnings results 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 45.28% and a return on equity of 202.03%. The business had revenue of $8.60 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $8.53 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $3.89 earnings per share. Mastercard’s quarterly revenue was up 16.7% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Mastercard Incorporated will post 15.91 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Mastercard Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, February 9th. Stockholders 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 dividend yield of 0.6%. This is an increase from Mastercard’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.76. Mastercard’s payout ratio is presently 19.44%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts recently commented on the stock. Hsbc Global Res raised shares of Mastercard from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday, December 8th. UBS Group raised their price target on Mastercard from $690.00 to $700.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, October 31st. The Goldman Sachs Group reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $713.00 price objective on shares of Mastercard in a research note on Thursday, October 30th. Macquarie increased their price objective on Mastercard from $655.00 to $660.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, October 31st. Finally, Citigroup raised Mastercard to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Thursday, October 23rd. Five analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-one have issued a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $657.48.

Mastercard Profile

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.