Mastercard Incorporated $MA Stake Lifted by QRG Capital Management Inc.

QRG Capital Management Inc. increased its stake in shares of Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) by 5.0% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 120,245 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after buying an additional 5,699 shares during the quarter. Mastercard comprises approximately 0.6% of QRG Capital Management Inc.’s holdings, making the stock its 22nd largest position. QRG Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in Mastercard were worth $67,571,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Accredited Investors Inc. grew its stake in Mastercard by 2.6% during the 1st quarter. Accredited Investors Inc. now owns 718 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $394,000 after buying an additional 18 shares during the last quarter. Wealthstream Advisors Inc. grew its stake in shares of Mastercard by 2.9% in the first quarter. Wealthstream Advisors Inc. now owns 632 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $347,000 after purchasing an additional 18 shares in the last quarter. Phillips Wealth Planners LLC grew its stake in shares of Mastercard by 1.8% in the first quarter. Phillips Wealth Planners LLC now owns 1,055 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $538,000 after purchasing an additional 19 shares in the last quarter. Alta Wealth Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Mastercard by 3.6% in the first quarter. Alta Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 540 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $296,000 after purchasing an additional 19 shares in the last quarter. Finally, May Hill Capital LLC grew its stake in shares of Mastercard by 2.0% in the first quarter. May Hill Capital LLC now owns 986 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $540,000 after purchasing an additional 19 shares in the last quarter. 97.28% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Mastercard Trading Up 0.6%

Shares of MA stock opened at $581.08 on Friday. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $580.26 and a 200 day simple moving average of $561.67. Mastercard Incorporated has a fifty-two week low of $465.59 and a fifty-two week high of $601.77. The stock has a market capitalization of $525.30 billion, a P/E ratio of 39.18, a P/E/G ratio of 2.37 and a beta of 0.97. The company has a quick ratio of 1.16, a current ratio of 1.16 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.41.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, July 31st. The credit services provider reported $4.15 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $4.05 by $0.10. Mastercard had a return on equity of 200.01% and a net margin of 44.93%.The business had revenue of $8.13 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $7.95 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $3.50 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 16.8% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Mastercard Incorporated will post 15.91 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Mastercard Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 7th. Investors of record on Thursday, October 9th will be given a $0.76 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, October 9th. This represents a $3.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.5%. Mastercard’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 20.50%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Julius Genachowski sold 312 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, July 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $570.67, for a total value of $178,049.04. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 8,469 shares in the company, valued at $4,833,004.23. This trade represents a 3.55% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CFO J. Mehra Sachin sold 17,816 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $586.89, for a total value of $10,456,032.24. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 31,234 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $18,330,922.26. This trade represents a 36.32% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 35,391 shares of company stock valued at $20,836,514 in the last quarter. 0.09% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

MA has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Mastercard in a research note on Saturday, September 27th. KeyCorp increased their price target on Mastercard from $635.00 to $660.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, August 1st. Royal Bank Of Canada increased their price target on Mastercard from $650.00 to $656.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, August 1st. Wolfe Research set a $655.00 price target on Mastercard in a research note on Monday, June 23rd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on Mastercard from $625.00 to $650.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, August 1st. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-five have assigned a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Mastercard presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $630.89.

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.