Ceera Investments LLC Has $4.32 Million Stock Holdings in Mastercard Incorporated $MA

Ceera Investments LLC lessened its stake in shares of Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) by 11.6% in the third quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 7,595 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after selling 1,000 shares during the quarter. Mastercard comprises about 1.3% of Ceera Investments LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 27th biggest position. Ceera Investments LLC’s holdings in Mastercard were worth $4,320,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Pinion Investment Advisors LLC increased its position in Mastercard by 0.8% during the second quarter. Pinion Investment Advisors LLC now owns 2,272 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $1,276,000 after acquiring an additional 18 shares during the period. KRS Capital Management LLC raised its position in shares of Mastercard by 0.6% in the second quarter. KRS Capital Management LLC now owns 2,848 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $1,601,000 after buying an additional 18 shares in the last quarter. Nvest Financial LLC grew its position in Mastercard by 1.2% during the second quarter. Nvest Financial LLC now owns 1,505 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $846,000 after buying an additional 18 shares in the last quarter. Washington Trust Advisors Inc. increased its position in shares of Mastercard by 5.6% in the second quarter. Washington Trust Advisors Inc. now owns 339 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $191,000 after purchasing an additional 18 shares during the period. Finally, Rialto Wealth Management LLC raised its position in shares of Mastercard by 13.0% in the 2nd quarter. Rialto Wealth Management LLC now owns 156 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $88,000 after buying an additional 18 shares in the last quarter. 97.28% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Mastercard Trading Down 0.5%

NYSE MA opened at $549.07 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 1.03, a quick ratio of 1.12 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.36. The firm has a market capitalization of $493.06 billion, a P/E ratio of 33.24, a PEG ratio of 1.79 and a beta of 0.83. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $555.27 and a 200 day simple moving average of $564.28. Mastercard Incorporated has a 12 month low of $465.59 and a 12 month high of $601.77.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, January 29th. The credit services provider reported $4.76 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $4.24 by $0.52. Mastercard had a net margin of 45.65% and a return on equity of 203.92%. The company had revenue of $8.81 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $8.80 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $3.82 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 17.5% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts predict that Mastercard Incorporated will post 15.91 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Mastercard Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, February 9th. Investors of record on Friday, January 9th will be given a dividend of $0.87 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, January 9th. This is a positive change from Mastercard’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.76. This represents a $3.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.6%. Mastercard’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 21.07%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have recently commented on MA. Evercore set a $610.00 price target on Mastercard in a research note on Friday, December 12th. Rothschild & Co Redburn set a $685.00 price objective on Mastercard in a research note on Wednesday, January 28th. KeyCorp reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and issued a $665.00 price objective on shares of Mastercard in a research note on Wednesday, October 22nd. Morgan Stanley upped their price target on shares of Mastercard from $665.00 to $678.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, January 30th. Finally, Truist Financial set a $609.00 target price on Mastercard in a report on Tuesday, January 20th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, sixteen have assigned a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Mastercard presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $669.18.

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.