Advisors Capital Management LLC Has $46.48 Million Stock Position in Mastercard Incorporated $MA

Advisors Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) by 2.1% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 82,707 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after buying an additional 1,708 shares during the period. Advisors Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Mastercard were worth $46,477,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the stock. LGT Financial Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Mastercard in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $25,000. Family Legacy Financial Solutions LLC bought a new position in Mastercard in the 2nd quarter valued at $26,000. Flaharty Asset Management LLC acquired a new position in Mastercard in the first quarter worth $27,000. Keystone Global Partners LLC bought a new stake in shares of Mastercard during the first quarter worth $31,000. Finally, IMG Wealth Management Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Mastercard in the second quarter valued at $31,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 97.28% of the company’s stock.

Mastercard Trading Down 1.1%

MA opened at $555.11 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.16, a current ratio of 1.16 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.41. Mastercard Incorporated has a 52 week low of $465.59 and a 52 week high of $601.77. The stock has a market cap of $498.49 billion, a PE ratio of 37.43, a PEG ratio of 2.27 and a beta of 0.92. The business has a 50 day moving average of $569.27 and a 200-day moving average of $569.64.

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. The business had revenue of $8.60 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $8.53 billion. Mastercard had a net margin of 44.93% and a return on equity of 200.01%. The business’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 earnings per share. Equities research analysts predict that Mastercard Incorporated will post 15.91 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Mastercard Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 7th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, October 9th were paid a dividend of $0.76 per share. This represents a $3.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.5%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, October 9th. Mastercard’s payout ratio is currently 19.44%.

Insider Activity

In other Mastercard news, CFO J. Mehra Sachin sold 17,263 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, September 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $591.00, for a total transaction of $10,202,433.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 31,234 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $18,459,294. This represents a 35.60% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. 0.09% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

MA has been the subject of several research reports. Morgan Stanley set a $665.00 price objective on shares of Mastercard and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, October 31st. Citigroup raised shares of Mastercard to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Thursday, October 23rd. Tigress Financial upped their price objective on Mastercard from $685.00 to $730.00 and gave the stock a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Thursday, November 6th. Compass Point set a $620.00 price objective on Mastercard and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, October 31st. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada upped their price target on Mastercard from $645.00 to $654.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, October 31st. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-two have assigned a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Mastercard has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $652.50.

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.