Prudential PLC Grows Stock Holdings in Mastercard Incorporated $MA

Prudential PLC increased its stake in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) by 0.8% during the 2nd quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 136,210 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after buying an additional 1,066 shares during the quarter. Mastercard makes up 0.5% of Prudential PLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 22nd biggest position. Prudential PLC’s holdings in Mastercard were worth $76,542,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. LGT Financial Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Mastercard during the second quarter valued at $25,000. Family Legacy Financial Solutions LLC purchased a new stake in Mastercard during the 2nd quarter valued at about $26,000. Flaharty Asset Management LLC purchased a new stake in Mastercard during the 1st quarter valued at about $27,000. Keystone Global Partners LLC bought a new stake in Mastercard during the 1st quarter valued at about $31,000. Finally, IMG Wealth Management Inc. purchased a new position in Mastercard in the second quarter worth about $31,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 97.28% of the company’s stock.

Mastercard Price Performance

Shares of MA opened at $529.95 on Thursday. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $565.34 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $569.52. The firm has a market cap of $475.89 billion, a PE ratio of 35.73, a P/E/G ratio of 2.27 and a beta of 0.92. The company has a current ratio of 1.16, a quick ratio of 1.16 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.41. Mastercard Incorporated has a 1-year low of $465.59 and a 1-year high of $601.77.

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

Mastercard Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 7th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, October 9th were paid a dividend of $0.76 per share. This represents a $3.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.6%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, October 9th. Mastercard’s payout ratio is currently 19.44%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on MA shares. Tigress Financial increased their price target on shares of Mastercard from $685.00 to $730.00 and gave the company a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Thursday, November 6th. TD Cowen reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $645.00 price objective on shares of Mastercard in a research report on Monday, August 11th. Compass Point set a $620.00 target price on Mastercard and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, October 31st. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price target on Mastercard from $669.00 to $660.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, October 31st. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised Mastercard from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Saturday, October 18th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-two have given a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Mastercard currently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $652.50.

Insider Activity

In other news, CFO J. Mehra Sachin sold 17,263 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $591.00, for a total transaction of $10,202,433.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer owned 31,234 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $18,459,294. This represents a 35.60% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. 0.09% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.