Maple Capital Management Inc. Raises Stock Holdings in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA)

Maple Capital Management Inc. increased its stake in shares of Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) by 2.3% in the third quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 76,056 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after buying an additional 1,685 shares during the quarter. Mastercard makes up approximately 2.9% of Maple Capital Management Inc.’s holdings, making the stock its 13th biggest holding. Maple Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in Mastercard were worth $37,556,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Foundations Investment Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Mastercard by 12.5% in the 3rd quarter. Foundations Investment Advisors LLC now owns 25,422 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $12,553,000 after acquiring an additional 2,816 shares during the period. Roof Eidam Maycock Peralta LLC grew its holdings in Mastercard by 1.1% during the 3rd quarter. Roof Eidam Maycock Peralta LLC now owns 4,451 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $2,198,000 after purchasing an additional 50 shares in the last quarter. Raleigh Capital Management Inc. lifted its holdings in Mastercard by 5.8% in the 3rd quarter. Raleigh Capital Management Inc. now owns 563 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $278,000 after buying an additional 31 shares in the last quarter. Evernest Financial Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Mastercard by 1.4% during the third quarter. Evernest Financial Advisors LLC now owns 3,589 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $1,772,000 after acquiring an additional 51 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Venture Visionary Partners LLC increased its position in shares of Mastercard by 1.0% during the third quarter. Venture Visionary Partners LLC now owns 31,051 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $15,333,000 after acquiring an additional 306 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 97.28% of the company’s stock.

Mastercard Price Performance

NYSE:MA opened at $515.01 on Tuesday. The firm has a market cap of $478.76 billion, a P/E ratio of 40.94, a PEG ratio of 2.22 and a beta of 1.10. Mastercard Incorporated has a 52-week low of $359.77 and a 52-week high of $518.82. The company has a quick ratio of 1.14, a current ratio of 1.14 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.95. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $488.09 and its 200 day moving average price is $464.33.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 31st. The credit services provider reported $3.59 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.51 by $0.08. The firm had revenue of $6.96 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.85 billion. Mastercard had a return on equity of 179.78% and a net margin of 46.45%. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Mastercard Incorporated will post 14.3 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Mastercard Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 8th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, October 9th will be paid a $0.66 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, October 9th. This represents a $2.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.51%. Mastercard’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 20.99%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have issued reports on MA. Evercore ISI dropped their price objective on Mastercard from $540.00 to $525.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, June 25th. William Blair raised Mastercard to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 31st. Argus upgraded shares of Mastercard to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 1st. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price objective on shares of Mastercard from $500.00 to $526.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 1st. Finally, Susquehanna increased their price objective on shares of Mastercard from $535.00 to $540.00 and gave the stock a “positive” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 1st. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eighteen have given a buy rating and three have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Mastercard currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $525.68.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CFO J. Mehra Sachin sold 13,439 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 5th. The stock was 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 owns 27,304 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $12,423,320. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. In other Mastercard news, CMO Venkata R. Madabhushi sold 4,685 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, September 13th. The shares were 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 $8,440,885.80. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CFO J. Mehra Sachin sold 13,439 shares of Mastercard stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 5th. The stock was 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 $12,423,320. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 340,809 shares of company stock valued at $159,610,703 in the last three months. Insiders own 0.10% of the company’s stock.

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.