Miracle Mile Advisors LLC Increases Position in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA)

Miracle Mile Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) by 8.4% in the second quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 6,829 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 529 shares during the period. Miracle Mile Advisors LLC’s holdings in Mastercard were worth $3,013,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of MA. Cross Staff Investments Inc increased its position in shares of Mastercard by 16.3% during the fourth quarter. Cross Staff Investments Inc now owns 3,148 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $1,343,000 after acquiring an additional 441 shares during the period. J.Safra Asset Management Corp raised its holdings in shares of Mastercard by 7.2% in the fourth quarter. J.Safra Asset Management Corp now owns 490 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $209,000 after acquiring an additional 33 shares in the last quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC grew its holdings in Mastercard by 15.6% during the 4th quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC now owns 24,452 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $10,429,000 after acquiring an additional 3,306 shares in the last quarter. Lindbrook Capital LLC increased its position in Mastercard by 13.8% during the 4th quarter. Lindbrook Capital LLC now owns 4,832 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $2,061,000 after purchasing an additional 585 shares during the period. Finally, Meritage Portfolio Management lifted its position in shares of Mastercard by 8.4% in the 4th quarter. Meritage Portfolio Management now owns 40,951 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $17,466,000 after purchasing an additional 3,172 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 97.28% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Mastercard

In other news, major shareholder Foundation Mastercard sold 108,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $457.21, for a total transaction of $49,378,680.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 94,863,308 shares in the company, valued at approximately $43,372,453,050.68. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. In other news, major shareholder Foundation Mastercard sold 108,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $457.21, for a total transaction of $49,378,680.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 94,863,308 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $43,372,453,050.68. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Raj Seshadri sold 3,464 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $447.84, for a total transaction of $1,551,317.76. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 13,736 shares in the company, valued at $6,151,530.24. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 1,627,175 shares of company stock worth $730,399,436 in the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 0.10% of the company’s stock.

Mastercard Stock Performance

MA stock traded up $0.17 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $468.88. 1,922,047 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,490,054. Mastercard Incorporated has a 1-year low of $359.77 and a 1-year high of $490.00. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.95, a current ratio of 1.14 and a quick ratio of 1.09. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $448.57 and its 200-day simple moving average is $458.08. The firm has a market cap of $435.88 billion, a P/E ratio of 37.27, a PEG ratio of 1.82 and a beta of 1.09.

Mastercard Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 9th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, July 9th were given a dividend of $0.66 per share. This represents a $2.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.56%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, July 9th. Mastercard’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 20.99%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have weighed in on MA shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their target price on Mastercard from $510.00 to $500.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, July 18th. BNP Paribas upgraded shares of Mastercard to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Thursday, July 25th. KeyCorp increased their target price on shares of Mastercard from $490.00 to $515.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 1st. Bank of America downgraded Mastercard from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and reduced their price target for the stock from $505.00 to $480.00 in a research report on Wednesday, July 10th. Finally, Citigroup raised their price target on Mastercard from $528.00 to $538.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, August 1st. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-one have given a buy rating and four have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $508.91.

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.