Milestones Administradora de Recursos Ltda. Takes Position in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA)

Milestones Administradora de Recursos Ltda. acquired a new stake in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) during the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor acquired 2,035 shares of the credit services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $1,005,000. Mastercard comprises about 0.4% of Milestones Administradora de Recursos Ltda.’s portfolio, making the stock its 24th largest position.

Other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Highline Wealth Partners LLC acquired a new position in shares of Mastercard in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $25,000. Palisade Asset Management LLC acquired a new position in Mastercard during the first quarter worth $27,000. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL purchased a new position in shares of Mastercard during the second quarter worth $34,000. Fairway Wealth LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Mastercard in the second quarter valued at $35,000. Finally, Lowe Wealth Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Mastercard by 74.0% in the 3rd quarter. Lowe Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 87 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $43,000 after buying an additional 37 shares during the period. 97.28% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts recently commented on the company. TD Cowen raised their target price on Mastercard from $532.00 to $533.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, August 1st. Bank of America lifted 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. Susquehanna increased their target price on shares of Mastercard from $535.00 to $540.00 and gave the stock a “positive” rating in a report on Thursday, August 1st. KeyCorp raised their price target on shares of Mastercard from $490.00 to $515.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 1st. Finally, Piper Sandler upped their price objective on Mastercard from $531.00 to $536.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, August 2nd. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eighteen have issued a buy rating and three have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $525.68.

Mastercard Stock Up 1.6 %

MA stock traded up $8.03 during midday trading on Wednesday, reaching $514.31. 995,787 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,418,710. The company has a market cap of $475.14 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 39.28, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.27 and a beta of 1.10. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.95, a quick ratio of 1.14 and a current ratio of 1.14. Mastercard Incorporated has a 1-year low of $373.11 and a 1-year high of $518.82. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $493.40 and its 200 day simple moving average is $465.94.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 31st. The credit services provider reported $3.59 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.51 by $0.08. Mastercard had a net margin of 46.45% and a return on equity of 179.78%. The firm had revenue of $6.96 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.85 billion. On average, equities analysts forecast that Mastercard Incorporated will post 14.32 earnings per share for the current year.

Mastercard Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 8th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, October 9th will be given a dividend of $0.66 per share. This represents a $2.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.51%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, October 9th. Mastercard’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 20.18%.

Insider Activity

In other Mastercard 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 transaction of $2,294,994.10. Following the transaction, the chief marketing officer now owns 15,031 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,363,085.66. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. In related news, CFO J. Mehra Sachin sold 13,439 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $455.00, for a total transaction of $6,114,745.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 27,304 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $12,423,320. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, CMO Venkata R. Madabhushi sold 4,685 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 sale, the chief marketing officer now directly owns 15,031 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,363,085.66. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 340,809 shares of company stock valued at $159,610,703. Insiders own 0.10% of the company’s stock.

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.