Hardy Reed LLC Increases Position in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA)

Hardy Reed LLC boosted its holdings in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) by 1.3% in the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 4,992 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 64 shares during the period. Hardy Reed LLC’s holdings in Mastercard were worth $2,465,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd. grew its stake in Mastercard by 46.4% in 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 purchasing an additional 4,685 shares in the last quarter. Quadrature Capital Ltd bought a new stake in shares of Mastercard in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $391,000. Coppell Advisory Solutions Corp. acquired a new stake in shares of Mastercard during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $608,000. XML Financial LLC lifted its stake in Mastercard by 5.5% during the first quarter. XML Financial LLC now owns 693 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $334,000 after purchasing an additional 36 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Advisory Resource Group boosted its holdings in Mastercard by 2.6% in the first quarter. Advisory Resource Group now owns 2,069 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $996,000 after purchasing an additional 53 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 97.28% of the company’s stock.

Mastercard Price Performance

Shares of Mastercard stock opened at $528.48 on Wednesday. Mastercard Incorporated has a 52 week low of $404.32 and a 52 week high of $534.03. The stock has a market cap of $485.05 billion, a PE ratio of 39.98, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.34 and a beta of 1.10. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $508.03 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $474.83. The company has a current ratio of 1.29, a quick ratio of 1.29 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.36.

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 return on equity of 178.27% and a net margin of 45.26%. The business had revenue of $7.37 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.27 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $3.39 earnings per share. Mastercard’s revenue was up 12.8% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Mastercard Incorporated will post 14.47 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Mastercard Announces Dividend

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

Insider Activity at Mastercard

In other Mastercard news, CMO Venkata R. Madabhushi sold 4,685 shares of Mastercard stock in a transaction on Friday, September 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $489.86, for a total transaction of $2,294,994.10. Following the completion of the sale, the chief marketing officer now owns 15,031 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,363,085.66. This trade represents a 23.76 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. 0.10% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Mizuho raised their price target on shares of Mastercard from $496.00 to $532.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, November 1st. UBS Group lifted their target price on Mastercard from $590.00 to $610.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 14th. Argus raised Mastercard to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Thursday, August 1st. Oppenheimer started coverage on Mastercard in a research report on Tuesday, October 1st. They set an “outperform” rating and a $591.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upped their price objective on Mastercard from $510.00 to $580.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-two have given a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $549.16.

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.