Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) Shares Acquired by Anchor Investment Management LLC

Anchor Investment Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) by 1.7% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 9,345 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 153 shares during the period. Anchor Investment Management LLC’s holdings in Mastercard were worth $4,614,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also made changes to their positions in MA. Temasek Holdings Private Ltd lifted its position in Mastercard by 2.3% during the third quarter. Temasek Holdings Private Ltd now owns 2,805,554 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $1,385,383,000 after buying an additional 62,891 shares during the period. Sarasin & Partners LLP lifted its position in Mastercard by 4.7% during the third quarter. Sarasin & Partners LLP now owns 831,942 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $410,813,000 after buying an additional 37,486 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. lifted its position in Mastercard by 4.8% during the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 3,031,915 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $1,497,160,000 after buying an additional 138,842 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its position in Mastercard by 2.0% during the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 5,010,430 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $2,474,151,000 after buying an additional 100,550 shares during the period. Finally, Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. purchased a new position in Mastercard during the second quarter worth about $6,850,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 97.28% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Mastercard

In other news, CMO Venkata R. Madabhushi sold 4,685 shares of Mastercard stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, September 20th. The stock was 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 approximately $7,363,085.66. This trade represents a 23.76 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.10% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on the company. Susquehanna increased their target price on Mastercard from $540.00 to $605.00 and gave the stock a “positive” rating in a research report on Friday, November 1st. Macquarie raised their price objective on Mastercard from $505.00 to $565.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, November 1st. Oppenheimer started coverage on Mastercard in a report on Tuesday, October 1st. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $591.00 price objective on the stock. Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on Mastercard from $544.00 to $564.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, November 14th. Finally, Bank of America raised their price objective on Mastercard from $480.00 to $509.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, September 17th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-three have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $559.28.

Mastercard Price Performance

Shares of NYSE MA opened at $534.45 on Thursday. Mastercard Incorporated has a fifty-two week low of $411.60 and a fifty-two week high of $535.89. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $515.85 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $480.24. The company has a quick ratio of 1.29, a current ratio of 1.29 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.36. The firm has a market cap of $490.53 billion, a PE ratio of 40.43, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.35 and a beta of 1.10.

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

Mastercard Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 8th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, October 9th were given a $0.66 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, October 9th. This represents a $2.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.49%. Mastercard’s payout ratio is 19.97%.

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.