NS Partners Ltd Increases Position in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA)

NS Partners Ltd lifted its holdings in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) by 0.5% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 110,696 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 503 shares during the quarter. Mastercard accounts for approximately 2.3% of NS Partners Ltd’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 8th biggest holding. NS Partners Ltd’s holdings in Mastercard were worth $54,662,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the business. Highline Wealth Partners LLC acquired a new position in Mastercard during the third quarter worth $25,000. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL acquired a new position in Mastercard during the second quarter worth $34,000. Fairway Wealth LLC acquired a new position in Mastercard during the second quarter worth $35,000. First Personal Financial Services acquired a new position in Mastercard during the third quarter worth $39,000. Finally, Lowe Wealth Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Mastercard by 74.0% during the third quarter. Lowe Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 87 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $43,000 after buying an additional 37 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 97.28% of the company’s stock.

Mastercard Stock Performance

Mastercard stock opened at $519.47 on Wednesday. The company has a market capitalization of $476.79 billion, a P/E ratio of 39.29, a P/E/G ratio of 2.32 and a beta of 1.10. The business has a 50 day moving average of $505.41 and a 200-day moving average of $472.48. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.36, a current ratio of 1.29 and a quick ratio of 1.29. Mastercard Incorporated has a 1 year low of $398.26 and a 1 year high of $534.03.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA) last released its earnings results 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. The business had revenue of $7.37 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.27 billion. Mastercard had a net margin of 45.26% and a return on equity of 178.27%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 12.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $3.39 EPS. On average, equities research analysts predict that Mastercard Incorporated will post 14.47 earnings per share for the current year.

Mastercard Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 8th. Stockholders 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 0.51%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, October 9th. Mastercard’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 19.97%.

Insider Transactions at Mastercard

In related news, major shareholder Foundation Mastercard sold 90,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $468.80, for a total value of $42,192,000.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 91,649,308 shares in the company, valued at $42,965,195,590.40. This trade represents a 0.10 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, CMO Venkata R. Madabhushi sold 4,685 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, September 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $493.10, for a total value of $2,310,173.50. Following the transaction, the chief marketing officer now owns 17,118 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,440,885.80. This trade represents a 21.49 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 99,370 shares of company stock valued at $46,797,168 in the last quarter. 0.10% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have commented on MA shares. Bank of America upped their price objective on shares of Mastercard from $480.00 to $509.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, September 17th. Robert W. Baird upped their price target on shares of Mastercard from $545.00 to $575.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 16th. KeyCorp upped their price target on shares of Mastercard from $515.00 to $580.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, November 1st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price target on shares of Mastercard from $593.00 to $580.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Finally, UBS Group upped their price target on shares of Mastercard from $590.00 to $610.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 14th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-one have given a buy rating and three have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $549.16.

Mastercard Company 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.