MML Investors Services LLC Boosts Stock Position in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA)

MML Investors Services LLC increased its position in shares of Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) by 2.9% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 162,932 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 4,543 shares during the period. MML Investors Services LLC’s holdings in Mastercard were worth $80,456,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Fermata Advisors LLC raised its stake in Mastercard by 30.3% during the 2nd quarter. Fermata Advisors LLC now owns 663 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $293,000 after acquiring an additional 154 shares in the last quarter. Occidental Asset Management LLC increased its position in shares of Mastercard by 31.6% during the second quarter. Occidental Asset Management LLC now owns 787 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $347,000 after purchasing an additional 189 shares in the last quarter. Transform Wealth LLC boosted its position in shares of Mastercard by 3.4% in the 2nd quarter. Transform Wealth LLC now owns 14,872 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $6,561,000 after purchasing an additional 486 shares during the period. Diligent Investors LLC grew its stake in Mastercard by 3.5% during the 2nd quarter. Diligent Investors LLC now owns 1,496 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $660,000 after buying an additional 50 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Chatham Capital Group Inc. increased its position in Mastercard by 5.8% during the second quarter. Chatham Capital Group Inc. now owns 5,659 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $2,497,000 after buying an additional 308 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 97.28% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In related news, CMO Venkata R. Madabhushi sold 4,685 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, September 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $489.86, for a total value of $2,294,994.10. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief marketing officer now directly owns 15,031 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,363,085.66. This represents a 23.76 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.10% of the company’s stock.

Mastercard Price Performance

MA stock opened at $528.57 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.36, a quick ratio of 1.29 and a current ratio of 1.29. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $513.84 and its 200 day moving average price is $478.65. The firm has a market cap of $485.14 billion, a P/E ratio of 39.98, a PEG ratio of 2.32 and a beta of 1.10. Mastercard Incorporated has a 1 year low of $409.23 and a 1 year high of $535.77.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 31st. The credit services provider reported $3.89 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.73 by $0.16. Mastercard had a return on equity of 178.27% and a net margin of 45.26%. The business had revenue of $7.37 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.27 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $3.39 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 12.8% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Mastercard Incorporated will post 14.47 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Mastercard Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 8th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, October 9th were issued a dividend of $0.66 per share. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, October 9th. This represents a $2.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.50%. Mastercard’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 19.97%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have issued reports on MA. UBS Group raised their price objective on shares of Mastercard from $590.00 to $610.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 14th. BMO Capital Markets raised their target price on shares of Mastercard from $550.00 to $565.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 14th. Macquarie lifted 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, November 1st. Barclays increased their price target on shares of Mastercard from $536.00 to $576.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, October 10th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $572.00 price objective on shares of Mastercard in a report on Thursday, November 14th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-two have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Mastercard has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $551.42.

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.