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

Ascent Group LLC raised its stake in shares of Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) by 17.6% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 28,190 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after buying an additional 4,212 shares during the period. Ascent Group LLC’s holdings in Mastercard were worth $16,035,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in MA. LGT Financial Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Mastercard during the second quarter worth approximately $25,000. Family Legacy Financial Solutions LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Mastercard in the second quarter worth $26,000. Flaharty Asset Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Mastercard during the 1st quarter worth $27,000. Evolution Wealth Management Inc. acquired a new position in Mastercard in the 2nd quarter valued at $29,000. Finally, IMG Wealth Management Inc. bought a new position in Mastercard in the 2nd quarter worth $31,000. Institutional investors own 97.28% of the company’s stock.

Mastercard Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:MA opened at $577.33 on Wednesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $518.44 billion, a PE ratio of 36.91, a PEG ratio of 2.27 and a beta of 0.87. 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 business’s 50 day moving average is $555.95 and its 200-day moving average is $565.53.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, October 30th. The credit services provider reported $4.38 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $4.31 by $0.07. Mastercard had a return on equity of 202.03% and a net margin of 45.28%.The firm had revenue of $8.60 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $8.53 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $3.89 earnings per share. Mastercard’s quarterly revenue was up 16.7% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side 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. Stockholders of record on Friday, January 9th will be given a dividend of $0.87 per share. This is an increase from Mastercard’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.76. The ex-dividend date is Friday, January 9th. This represents a $3.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.6%. Mastercard’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 19.44%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on MA shares. Compass Point set a $620.00 price target on shares of Mastercard and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, October 31st. Truist Financial lowered their target price on Mastercard from $638.00 to $630.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, November 4th. KeyCorp reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and issued a $665.00 price target on shares of Mastercard in a research report on Wednesday, October 22nd. The Goldman Sachs Group reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $713.00 price objective on shares of Mastercard in a research report on Thursday, October 30th. Finally, Morgan Stanley set a $665.00 target price on shares of Mastercard and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, October 31st. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-one have given a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Mastercard presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus 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.