Nvest Financial LLC Increases Stock Holdings in Mastercard Incorporated $MA

Nvest Financial LLC increased its holdings in shares of Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) by 1.2% during the second quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 1,505 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 18 shares during the period. Nvest Financial LLC’s holdings in Mastercard were worth $846,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in MA. Accredited Investors Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Mastercard by 2.6% during the 1st quarter. Accredited Investors Inc. now owns 718 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $394,000 after purchasing an additional 18 shares during the period. Wealthstream Advisors Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Mastercard by 2.9% during the 1st quarter. Wealthstream Advisors Inc. now owns 632 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $347,000 after purchasing an additional 18 shares during the period. KRS Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Mastercard by 0.6% during the 2nd quarter. KRS Capital Management LLC now owns 2,848 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $1,601,000 after purchasing an additional 18 shares during the period. Pinion Investment Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Mastercard by 0.8% during the 2nd quarter. Pinion Investment Advisors LLC now owns 2,272 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $1,276,000 after purchasing an additional 18 shares during the period. Finally, Phillips Wealth Planners LLC grew its holdings in shares of Mastercard by 1.8% during the 1st quarter. Phillips Wealth Planners LLC now owns 1,055 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $538,000 after purchasing an additional 19 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 97.28% of the company’s stock.

Mastercard Stock Performance

Shares of MA opened at $563.30 on Thursday. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $580.71 and a 200-day simple moving average of $563.06. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.41, a quick ratio of 1.16 and a current ratio of 1.16. The stock has a market capitalization of $509.23 billion, a PE ratio of 37.98, a PEG ratio of 2.33 and a beta of 0.97. Mastercard Incorporated has a 1 year low of $465.59 and a 1 year high of $601.77.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 31st. The credit services provider reported $4.15 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $4.05 by $0.10. The business had revenue of $8.13 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $7.95 billion. Mastercard had a return on equity of 200.01% and a net margin of 44.93%.The business’s quarterly revenue was up 16.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $3.50 EPS. On average, analysts predict that Mastercard Incorporated will post 15.91 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Mastercard Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 7th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, October 9th will be paid a $0.76 dividend. This represents a $3.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.5%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, October 9th. Mastercard’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 20.50%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have recently weighed in on MA shares. Seaport Res Ptn upgraded Mastercard from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday, July 14th. Truist Financial lowered their target price on Mastercard from $640.00 to $612.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, July 17th. KeyCorp raised their target price on Mastercard from $635.00 to $660.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, August 1st. TD Cowen restated a “buy” rating and set a $645.00 target price on shares of Mastercard in a report on Monday, August 11th. Finally, Morgan Stanley raised their target price on Mastercard from $639.00 to $661.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, August 1st. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-five have assigned a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $634.04.

Insider Activity

In other news, CFO J. Mehra Sachin sold 17,816 shares of Mastercard stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $586.89, for a total value of $10,456,032.24. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 31,234 shares in the company, valued at approximately $18,330,922.26. This trade represents a 36.32% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.09% 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.