MUFG Securities EMEA plc Purchases 90,101 Shares of Mastercard Incorporated $MA

MUFG Securities EMEA plc grew its holdings in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) by 132.5% in the second quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 158,100 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 90,101 shares during the period. Mastercard comprises approximately 0.1% of MUFG Securities EMEA plc’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 5th largest position. MUFG Securities EMEA plc’s holdings in Mastercard were worth $88,843,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Brighton Jones LLC increased its holdings in shares of Mastercard by 42.3% in the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 6,824 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $3,594,000 after purchasing an additional 2,028 shares during the period. Golden State Wealth Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Mastercard by 2.5% during the first quarter. Golden State Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,157 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $635,000 after purchasing an additional 28 shares during the period. Avantax Planning Partners Inc. grew its position in Mastercard by 2.3% during the first quarter. Avantax Planning Partners Inc. now owns 1,680 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $921,000 after purchasing an additional 38 shares in the last quarter. Brookstone Capital Management grew its position in Mastercard by 3.1% during the first quarter. Brookstone Capital Management now owns 8,292 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $4,545,000 after purchasing an additional 246 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Strategic Blueprint LLC increased its stake in Mastercard by 31.5% in the 1st quarter. Strategic Blueprint LLC now owns 4,367 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $2,394,000 after buying an additional 1,045 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 97.28% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CFO J. Mehra Sachin sold 17,816 shares of Mastercard stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $586.89, for a total value of $10,456,032.24. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 31,234 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $18,330,922.26. This trade represents a 36.32% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 0.09% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Mastercard Trading Down 0.2%

Mastercard stock opened at $552.59 on Friday. Mastercard Incorporated has a one year low of $465.59 and a one year high of $601.77. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $576.43 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $568.06. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.41, a current ratio of 1.16 and a quick ratio of 1.16. The company has a market capitalization of $499.54 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 37.26, a PEG ratio of 2.27 and a beta of 0.97.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 30th. The credit services provider reported $4.38 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.31 by $0.07. The company had revenue of $8.60 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $8.53 billion. Mastercard had a return on equity of 200.01% and a net margin of 44.93%.The business’s quarterly revenue was up 16.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $3.89 earnings per share. On average, analysts forecast that Mastercard Incorporated will post 15.91 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Mastercard Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 7th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, October 9th will be issued a dividend of $0.76 per share. This represents a $3.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.6%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, October 9th. Mastercard’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 19.44%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on MA shares. Royal Bank Of Canada lifted their target price on shares of Mastercard from $645.00 to $654.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Mastercard in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. Wall Street Zen raised Mastercard from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, October 18th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their target price on Mastercard from $669.00 to $660.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $713.00 price target on shares of Mastercard in a research note on Thursday. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-three have assigned a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $647.89.

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.