ERn Financial LLC Acquires Shares of 457 Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA)

ERn Financial LLC bought a new position in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) during the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor bought 457 shares of the credit services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $226,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Westend Capital Management LLC bought a new position in Mastercard in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Palisade Asset Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Mastercard during the first quarter valued at $27,000. Scarborough Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Mastercard during the fourth quarter valued at $28,000. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL bought a new stake in Mastercard in the 2nd quarter worth about $34,000. Finally, Fairway Wealth LLC purchased a new position in Mastercard in the 2nd quarter worth about $35,000. 97.28% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on MA. BNP Paribas downgraded shares of Mastercard from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $470.00 price objective on the stock. in a research report on Tuesday, September 3rd. TD Cowen lifted their price objective on Mastercard from $532.00 to $533.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, August 1st. Evercore ISI lowered their target price on Mastercard from $540.00 to $525.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, June 25th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on shares of Mastercard from $500.00 to $570.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 20th. Finally, Susquehanna raised their price objective on shares of Mastercard from $535.00 to $540.00 and gave the stock a “positive” rating in a report on Thursday, August 1st. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eighteen have issued a buy rating and three have given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $524.64.

Insider Transactions at Mastercard

In other news, CFO J. Mehra Sachin sold 13,439 shares of the stock in a transaction 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 sale, the chief financial officer now owns 27,304 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $12,423,320. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. In related news, CMO Venkata R. Madabhushi sold 4,685 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, September 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $489.86, for a total transaction of $2,294,994.10. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief marketing officer now owns 15,031 shares in the company, valued at $7,363,085.66. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CFO J. Mehra Sachin sold 13,439 shares of the stock in a transaction 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 in the company, valued at approximately $12,423,320. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 340,809 shares of company stock worth $159,610,703. 0.10% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Mastercard Trading Up 1.3 %

Shares of MA opened at $514.07 on Thursday. The stock has a market capitalization of $477.89 billion, a PE ratio of 40.86, a P/E/G ratio of 2.22 and a beta of 1.10. The company’s fifty day moving average is $484.54 and its 200 day moving average is $463.60. 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 fifty-two week low of $359.77 and a fifty-two week high of $515.40.

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

Mastercard Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed 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. This represents a $2.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.51%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, October 9th. Mastercard’s payout ratio is 20.99%.

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.