LPL Financial LLC Grows Position in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA)

LPL Financial LLC raised its stake in shares of Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) by 6.3% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 801,782 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 47,231 shares during the period. LPL Financial LLC owned approximately 0.09% of Mastercard worth $395,920,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Goldstein Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Mastercard by 1.3% in the third quarter. Goldstein Advisors LLC now owns 1,516 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $749,000 after acquiring an additional 20 shares during the last quarter. McLean Asset Management Corp lifted its stake in shares of Mastercard by 1.3% in the 3rd quarter. McLean Asset Management Corp now owns 1,677 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $834,000 after purchasing an additional 21 shares in the last quarter. Oldfather Financial Services LLC grew its holdings in shares of Mastercard by 2.6% during the 3rd quarter. Oldfather Financial Services LLC now owns 827 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $408,000 after purchasing an additional 21 shares during the period. Transcendent Capital Group LLC increased its position in Mastercard by 4.8% during the 3rd quarter. Transcendent Capital Group LLC now owns 455 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $225,000 after purchasing an additional 21 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Guerra Pan Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Mastercard by 1.7% in the third quarter. Guerra Pan Advisors LLC now owns 1,225 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $605,000 after buying an additional 21 shares during the period. 97.28% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Transactions at Mastercard

In related news, CMO Venkata R. Madabhushi sold 4,685 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, September 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $489.86, for a total value 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. This represents a 23.76 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.10% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

MA has been the subject of several recent research reports. Susquehanna increased their price objective on shares of Mastercard from $540.00 to $605.00 and gave the stock a “positive” rating in a research report on Friday, November 1st. Compass Point initiated coverage on Mastercard in a report on Wednesday, September 4th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $525.00 price target for the company. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price objective on Mastercard from $550.00 to $565.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 14th. Mizuho raised their target price on Mastercard from $496.00 to $532.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, November 1st. Finally, Robert W. Baird upped their price target on Mastercard from $545.00 to $575.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 16th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-one have given a buy rating and three have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Mastercard has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $549.16.

Mastercard Price Performance

Shares of MA opened at $512.54 on Thursday. Mastercard Incorporated has a 12 month low of $404.32 and a 12 month high of $534.03. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.36, a current ratio of 1.29 and a quick ratio of 1.29. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $505.90 and a 200 day moving average price of $472.76. The company has a market cap of $470.42 billion, a P/E ratio of 38.77, a PEG ratio of 2.31 and a beta of 1.10.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The credit services provider reported $3.89 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.73 by $0.16. Mastercard had a net margin of 45.26% and a return on equity of 178.27%. The company had revenue of $7.37 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.27 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $3.39 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 12.8% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts forecast that Mastercard Incorporated will post 14.47 earnings per share for the current year.

Mastercard Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 8th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, October 9th were issued a dividend of $0.66 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, October 9th. This represents a $2.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.52%. Mastercard’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 19.97%.

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.