First Trust Direct Indexing L.P. Purchases 3,674 Shares of Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA)

First Trust Direct Indexing L.P. grew its position in shares of Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) by 15.8% during the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 26,944 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after buying an additional 3,674 shares during the quarter. Mastercard accounts for 0.7% of First Trust Direct Indexing L.P.’s holdings, making the stock its 17th biggest position. First Trust Direct Indexing L.P.’s holdings in Mastercard were worth $13,305,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of MA. Highline Wealth Partners LLC bought a new stake in Mastercard in the third quarter worth about $25,000. Palisade Asset Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Mastercard in the 1st quarter worth approximately $27,000. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL bought a new stake in shares of Mastercard in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $34,000. Fairway Wealth LLC purchased a new position in Mastercard in the second quarter valued at approximately $35,000. Finally, Lowe Wealth Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Mastercard by 74.0% during the third quarter. Lowe Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 87 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $43,000 after purchasing an additional 37 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 97.28% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In related news, CMO Venkata R. Madabhushi sold 4,685 shares of Mastercard stock in a transaction on Friday, September 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $493.10, for a total value of $2,310,173.50. Following the transaction, the chief marketing officer now owns 17,118 shares in the company, valued at $8,440,885.80. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In related news, CFO J. Mehra Sachin sold 13,439 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on 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 directly owns 27,304 shares in the company, valued at $12,423,320. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, CMO Venkata R. Madabhushi sold 4,685 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, September 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $493.10, for a total transaction of $2,310,173.50. Following the completion of the sale, the chief marketing officer now directly owns 17,118 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,440,885.80. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 340,809 shares of company stock valued at $159,610,703. Corporate insiders own 0.10% of the company’s stock.

Mastercard Price Performance

NYSE MA traded up $7.65 during trading hours on Wednesday, reaching $513.93. 984,400 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,419,184. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.95, a current ratio of 1.14 and a quick ratio of 1.14. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $493.40 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $465.94. Mastercard Incorporated has a 1 year low of $373.11 and a 1 year high of $518.82. The company has a market cap of $474.79 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 39.28, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.27 and a beta of 1.10.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 31st. The credit services provider reported $3.59 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.51 by $0.08. The company had revenue of $6.96 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.85 billion. Mastercard had a return on equity of 179.78% and a net margin of 46.45%. On average, analysts predict that Mastercard Incorporated will post 14.32 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Mastercard Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 8th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, October 9th will be issued a $0.66 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, October 9th. This represents a $2.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.51%. Mastercard’s payout ratio is 20.18%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on MA shares. Piper Sandler increased their price target on Mastercard from $531.00 to $536.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, August 2nd. BMO Capital Markets reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $520.00 price target on shares of Mastercard in a research report on Wednesday, August 14th. Susquehanna upped their price target on shares of Mastercard from $535.00 to $540.00 and gave the company a “positive” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 1st. KeyCorp lifted their price objective on shares of Mastercard from $490.00 to $515.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 1st. Finally, BNP Paribas downgraded Mastercard from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $470.00 target price on the stock. in a research report on Tuesday, September 3rd. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eighteen have assigned a buy rating and three have assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $525.68.

About Mastercard

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.