Dash Acquisitions Inc. Acquires 2,877 Shares of Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA)

Dash Acquisitions Inc. raised its holdings in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) by 6.9% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 44,632 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 2,877 shares during the quarter. Mastercard makes up about 5.4% of Dash Acquisitions Inc.’s portfolio, making the stock its 6th largest holding. Dash Acquisitions Inc.’s holdings in Mastercard were worth $22,645,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd. raised its position in shares of Mastercard by 46.4% during the first quarter. China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 14,785 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $7,120,000 after acquiring an additional 4,685 shares during the last quarter. Greenwood Capital Associates LLC raised its holdings in Mastercard by 3.7% during the 1st quarter. Greenwood Capital Associates LLC now owns 679 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $327,000 after purchasing an additional 24 shares during the last quarter. Palisade Asset Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Mastercard in the 1st quarter worth approximately $27,000. Tobam boosted its stake in shares of Mastercard by 8.0% in the 1st quarter. Tobam now owns 1,730 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $833,000 after purchasing an additional 128 shares during the last quarter. Finally, BNP Paribas acquired a new stake in shares of Mastercard during the first quarter worth $10,604,000. Institutional investors own 97.28% of the company’s stock.

Mastercard Trading Up 1.7 %

NYSE MA opened at $508.23 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 1.14, a quick ratio of 1.14 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.95. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $495.77 and a 200 day simple moving average of $466.84. Mastercard Incorporated has a 12 month low of $378.48 and a 12 month high of $527.90. The firm has a market capitalization of $469.52 billion, a P/E ratio of 38.86, a PEG ratio of 2.27 and a beta of 1.10.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The credit services provider reported $3.89 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.73 by $0.16. Mastercard had a net margin of 46.45% and a return on equity of 179.78%. The company had revenue of $7.37 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.27 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $3.39 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 12.8% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts predict that Mastercard Incorporated will post 14.33 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Mastercard Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 8th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, October 9th will be paid a $0.66 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, October 9th. This represents a $2.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.52%. Mastercard’s payout ratio is presently 20.18%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms recently issued reports on MA. Macquarie boosted their target price on shares of Mastercard from $505.00 to $565.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday. William Blair raised Mastercard to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 31st. Royal Bank of Canada raised their target price on Mastercard from $500.00 to $526.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 1st. Citigroup boosted their price target on Mastercard from $528.00 to $538.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 1st. Finally, Argus raised shares of Mastercard to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 1st. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty have issued a buy rating and three have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Mastercard presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $537.92.

Insider Activity

In other Mastercard news, CMO Venkata R. Madabhushi sold 4,685 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, September 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $493.10, for a total value of $2,310,173.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief marketing officer now owns 17,118 shares in the company, valued at $8,440,885.80. This 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, major shareholder Foundation Mastercard sold 119,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $468.46, for a total value of $55,746,740.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 92,033,308 shares in the company, valued at approximately $43,113,923,465.68. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, CMO Venkata R. Madabhushi sold 4,685 shares of the 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 directly owns 17,118 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,440,885.80. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 340,809 shares of company stock valued at $159,610,703 over the last three months. Corporate insiders own 0.10% of the company’s stock.

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.