Westpac Banking Corp Acquires 1,585 Shares of Mastercard Incorporated $MA

Westpac Banking Corp lifted its holdings in shares of Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) by 5.4% in the second quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 31,143 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after buying an additional 1,585 shares during the period. Mastercard comprises about 1.2% of Westpac Banking Corp’s portfolio, making the stock its 11th biggest holding. Westpac Banking Corp’s holdings in Mastercard were worth $17,500,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the business. LGT Financial Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Mastercard in the second quarter worth about $25,000. Family Legacy Financial Solutions LLC bought a new stake in shares of Mastercard in the second quarter worth $26,000. Flaharty Asset Management LLC acquired a new stake in Mastercard in the first quarter valued at $27,000. Keystone Global Partners LLC bought a new position in Mastercard during the 1st quarter worth $31,000. Finally, IMG Wealth Management Inc. bought a new position in Mastercard during the 2nd quarter worth $31,000. 97.28% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Mastercard news, CFO J. Mehra Sachin sold 17,816 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 19th. The stock was 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 in the company, valued at $18,330,922.26. This represents a 36.32% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.09% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have commented on MA shares. Royal Bank Of Canada upped their price target on Mastercard from $645.00 to $654.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, October 31st. Compass Point set a $620.00 target price on Mastercard and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, October 31st. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Mastercard from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, October 18th. Macquarie raised their price target on shares of Mastercard from $655.00 to $660.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, October 31st. Finally, UBS Group increased their price objective on shares of Mastercard from $690.00 to $700.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, October 31st. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-two have given a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $652.50.

Mastercard Stock Performance

Shares of Mastercard stock opened at $545.31 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $489.68 billion, a PE ratio of 36.77, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.27 and a beta of 0.92. 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 Incorporated has a 52 week low of $465.59 and a 52 week high of $601.77. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $568.49 and a 200-day moving average price of $569.93.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 30th. The credit services provider reported $4.38 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.31 by $0.07. Mastercard had a net margin of 44.93% and a return on equity of 200.01%. The firm had revenue of $8.60 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $8.53 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $3.89 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 16.7% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts anticipate that Mastercard Incorporated will post 15.91 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Mastercard Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 7th. Investors of record on Thursday, October 9th were given a dividend of $0.76 per share. This represents a $3.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.6%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, October 9th. Mastercard’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 19.44%.

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.