Commonwealth Equity Services LLC Increases Stock Holdings in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA)

Commonwealth Equity Services LLC boosted its position in shares of Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) by 0.9% during the second quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 291,198 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 2,739 shares during the period. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC’s holdings in Mastercard were worth $128,465,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Westend Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Mastercard during the 1st quarter worth $27,000. Palisade Asset Management LLC acquired a new position in Mastercard in the first quarter valued at about $27,000. VitalStone Financial LLC boosted its stake in Mastercard by 300.0% during the fourth quarter. VitalStone Financial LLC now owns 60 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $26,000 after buying an additional 45 shares during the period. Altshuler Shaham Ltd acquired a new stake in shares of Mastercard during the fourth quarter valued at about $26,000. Finally, Scarborough Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Mastercard in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $28,000. 97.28% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

MA has been the subject of several research reports. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their target price on shares of Mastercard from $500.00 to $526.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, August 1st. Citigroup increased their target price on Mastercard from $528.00 to $538.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 1st. Evercore ISI dropped their target price on Mastercard from $540.00 to $525.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, June 25th. William Blair upgraded shares of Mastercard to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 31st. Finally, BNP Paribas raised shares of Mastercard to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 25th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-one have assigned a buy rating and four have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Mastercard has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $512.09.

Insider Activity

In other Mastercard news, major shareholder Foundation Mastercard sold 110,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, June 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $441.43, for a total value of $48,557,300.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 94,014,308 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $41,500,735,980.44. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. In other Mastercard news, major shareholder Foundation Mastercard sold 110,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $441.43, for a total transaction of $48,557,300.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 94,014,308 shares in the company, valued at approximately $41,500,735,980.44. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CFO J. Mehra Sachin sold 13,439 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 27,304 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $12,423,320. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 1,516,959 shares of company stock valued at $686,890,426 in the last ninety days. 0.10% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Mastercard Trading Up 0.5 %

NYSE:MA opened at $483.34 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.95, a quick ratio of 1.14 and a current ratio of 1.14. Mastercard Incorporated has a 1 year low of $359.77 and a 1 year high of $490.00. The stock has a market cap of $446.53 billion, a P/E ratio of 38.42, a P/E/G ratio of 1.90 and a beta of 1.09. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $453.20 and a 200-day simple moving average of $459.10.

Mastercard Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 9th. Investors of record on Tuesday, July 9th were paid a dividend of $0.66 per share. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, July 9th. This represents a $2.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.55%. Mastercard’s dividend payout ratio is presently 20.99%.

Mastercard 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.