Nicolet Advisory Services LLC Grows Stock Holdings in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA)

Nicolet Advisory Services LLC grew its position in shares of Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) by 1.0% during the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 4,220 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 41 shares during the period. Nicolet Advisory Services LLC’s holdings in Mastercard were worth $2,089,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Highline Wealth Partners LLC bought a new stake in shares of Mastercard in the 3rd quarter valued at about $25,000. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL bought a new stake in Mastercard in the 2nd quarter worth $34,000. First Personal Financial Services purchased a new stake in shares of Mastercard during the third quarter worth about $39,000. Fairway Wealth LLC bought a new stake in shares of Mastercard in the second quarter worth about $35,000. Finally, Lowe Wealth Advisors LLC raised its position in Mastercard by 74.0% during the 3rd quarter. Lowe Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 87 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $43,000 after purchasing an additional 37 shares during the last quarter. 97.28% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Mastercard news, CMO Venkata R. Madabhushi sold 4,685 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, September 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $489.86, for a total value of $2,294,994.10. Following the transaction, the chief marketing officer now directly owns 15,031 shares in the company, valued at $7,363,085.66. This represents a 23.76 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.10% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

MA has been the subject of a number of research reports. BMO Capital Markets increased their price target on shares of Mastercard from $550.00 to $565.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 14th. Argus raised shares of Mastercard to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 1st. Citigroup upped their target price on shares of Mastercard from $566.00 to $572.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, November 4th. UBS Group upped their price objective on Mastercard from $590.00 to $610.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 14th. Finally, William Blair upgraded Mastercard to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 31st. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-one have issued a buy rating and three have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $549.16.

Mastercard Trading Up 1.1 %

Shares of MA opened at $520.76 on Friday. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $506.91 and its 200-day simple moving average is $473.55. The company has a market cap of $477.97 billion, a P/E ratio of 39.39, a P/E/G ratio of 2.29 and a beta of 1.10. The company has a current ratio of 1.29, a quick ratio of 1.29 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.36. Mastercard Incorporated has a twelve month low of $404.32 and a twelve month high of $534.03.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 31st. The credit services provider reported $3.89 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 firm’s quarterly revenue was up 12.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $3.39 earnings per share. As a group, analysts expect that Mastercard Incorporated will post 14.47 EPS for the current year.

Mastercard Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 8th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, October 9th were given a $0.66 dividend. This represents a $2.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.51%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, October 9th. Mastercard’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 19.97%.

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.