Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) Shares Purchased by Alta Advisers Ltd

Alta Advisers Ltd boosted its position in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) by 4.5% in the 2nd quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 2,300 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 100 shares during the period. Mastercard makes up about 0.5% of Alta Advisers Ltd’s holdings, making the stock its 22nd largest holding. Alta Advisers Ltd’s holdings in Mastercard were worth $1,015,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Hoxton Planning & Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Mastercard by 1.4% during the first quarter. Hoxton Planning & Management LLC now owns 1,637 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $788,000 after acquiring an additional 22 shares during the period. Carolinas Wealth Consulting LLC raised its holdings in shares of Mastercard by 5.0% during the fourth quarter. Carolinas Wealth Consulting LLC now owns 484 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $206,000 after acquiring an additional 23 shares during the period. Benin Management CORP raised its holdings in shares of Mastercard by 3.0% during the first quarter. Benin Management CORP now owns 794 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $382,000 after acquiring an additional 23 shares during the period. Atticus Wealth Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Mastercard by 1.3% during the first quarter. Atticus Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,734 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $835,000 after acquiring an additional 23 shares during the period. Finally, Strategic Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Mastercard by 0.3% during the first quarter. Strategic Advisors LLC now owns 6,881 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $3,314,000 after acquiring an additional 23 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 97.28% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In other news, CFO J. Mehra Sachin sold 13,439 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, August 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $455.00, for a total value of $6,114,745.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 27,304 shares in the company, valued at approximately $12,423,320. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. In related news, CFO J. Mehra Sachin sold 13,439 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $455.00, for a total transaction of $6,114,745.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 27,304 shares in the company, valued at approximately $12,423,320. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, major shareholder Foundation Mastercard sold 111,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, June 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $451.07, for a total transaction of $50,068,770.00. Following the sale, the insider now owns 92,672,308 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $41,801,697,969.56. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 827,467 shares of company stock worth $379,595,815. 0.10% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Mastercard Trading Up 0.3 %

Shares of MA stock opened at $493.36 on Friday. Mastercard Incorporated has a 52-week low of $359.77 and a 52-week high of $496.85. The stock has a market cap of $458.63 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 39.22, a P/E/G ratio of 1.92 and a beta of 1.10. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.95, a quick ratio of 1.14 and a current ratio of 1.14. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $460.67 and a 200-day moving average of $460.41.

Mastercard Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 9th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, July 9th were paid a $0.66 dividend. This represents a $2.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.54%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, July 9th. Mastercard’s dividend payout ratio is 20.99%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts recently commented on MA shares. Compass Point started coverage on shares of Mastercard in a research report on Wednesday, September 4th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $525.00 price objective on the stock. Bank of America downgraded shares of Mastercard from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and lowered their price objective for the company from $505.00 to $480.00 in a research report on Wednesday, July 10th. BNP Paribas downgraded shares of Mastercard from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $470.00 target price for the company. in a research report on Tuesday, September 3rd. Susquehanna boosted their target price on shares of Mastercard from $535.00 to $540.00 and gave the stock a “positive” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 1st. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on shares of Mastercard from $500.00 to $570.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 20th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-one have given a buy rating and three have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $510.88.

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.