Soltis Investment Advisors LLC Boosts Stock Holdings in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA)

Soltis Investment Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) by 5.9% during the third quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 14,419 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after buying an additional 808 shares during the quarter. Soltis Investment Advisors LLC’s holdings in Mastercard were worth $7,120,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the business. TD Private Client Wealth LLC increased its position in shares of Mastercard by 10.5% during the third quarter. TD Private Client Wealth LLC now owns 20,088 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $9,919,000 after buying an additional 1,907 shares during the period. Fortem Financial Group LLC grew its stake in Mastercard by 6.3% during the third quarter. Fortem Financial Group LLC now owns 1,482 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $732,000 after acquiring an additional 88 shares in the last quarter. Arete Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Mastercard during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $1,734,000. Sunbelt Securities Inc. lifted its stake in Mastercard by 4.8% in the 3rd quarter. Sunbelt Securities Inc. now owns 9,665 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $4,773,000 after purchasing an additional 443 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Empire Financial Management Company LLC boosted its holdings in Mastercard by 5.2% in the 3rd quarter. Empire Financial Management Company LLC now owns 2,533 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $1,251,000 after purchasing an additional 125 shares during the period. 97.28% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Mastercard Stock Up 1.2 %

Shares of NYSE:MA opened at $529.16 on Wednesday. Mastercard Incorporated has a 1 year low of $411.60 and a 1 year high of $535.77. 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’s 50-day moving average is $514.42 and its 200 day moving average is $479.31. The company has a market cap of $485.68 billion, a PE ratio of 40.03, a P/E/G ratio of 2.35 and a beta of 1.10.

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

Mastercard Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 8th. Investors of record on Wednesday, October 9th were given a dividend of $0.66 per share. This represents a $2.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.50%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, October 9th. Mastercard’s dividend payout ratio is currently 19.97%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CMO Venkata R. Madabhushi sold 4,685 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, September 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $489.86, for a total transaction of $2,294,994.10. Following the sale, the chief marketing officer now owns 15,031 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,363,085.66. The trade was a 23.76 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. 0.10% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

MA has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price objective on Mastercard from $580.00 to $618.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday. William Blair reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of Mastercard in a research report on Monday, November 25th. Susquehanna upped 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 began coverage on shares of Mastercard in a research report on Wednesday, September 4th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $525.00 target price for the company. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group raised their price objective on shares of Mastercard from $590.00 to $610.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-three have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $559.28.

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.