Norges Bank Takes $6.73 Billion Position in Mastercard Incorporated $MA

Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm bought 11,968,034 shares of the credit services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $6,725,317,000. Mastercard accounts for 0.8% of Norges Bank’s portfolio, making the stock its 14th largest holding.

Other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. ORG Partners LLC increased its holdings in Mastercard by 73.2% in the 2nd quarter. ORG Partners LLC now owns 698 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $394,000 after acquiring an additional 295 shares during the last quarter. Ethos Financial Group LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Mastercard by 19.5% during the 1st quarter. Ethos Financial Group LLC now owns 3,174 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $1,683,000 after purchasing an additional 518 shares during the last quarter. Curio Wealth LLC grew its position in shares of Mastercard by 22,400.0% during the second quarter. Curio Wealth LLC now owns 225 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $126,000 after purchasing an additional 224 shares in the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Mastercard by 1.2% in the second quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 78,475,807 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $44,098,695,000 after purchasing an additional 931,132 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Wheelhouse Advisory Group LLC increased its holdings in shares of Mastercard by 4.4% in the second quarter. Wheelhouse Advisory Group LLC now owns 1,336 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $751,000 after purchasing an additional 56 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 97.28% of the company’s stock.

Mastercard Stock Down 0.2%

Shares of NYSE MA opened at $545.56 on Friday. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $559.71 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $568.48. The company has a market cap of $489.91 billion, a P/E ratio of 36.79, a PEG ratio of 2.27 and a beta of 0.92. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.41, a current ratio of 1.16 and a quick ratio of 1.16. Mastercard Incorporated has a 1 year low of $465.59 and a 1 year high of $601.77.

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

Mastercard Announces Dividend

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have weighed in on MA. Robert W. Baird raised their price target on Mastercard from $640.00 to $660.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, October 6th. Royal Bank Of Canada increased their target price on Mastercard from $645.00 to $654.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, October 31st. Citigroup upgraded shares of Mastercard to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 23rd. Cowen reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Mastercard in a research report on Friday, October 31st. Finally, KeyCorp reissued an “overweight” rating and issued a $665.00 price objective on shares of Mastercard in a research note on Wednesday, October 22nd. Four analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-two have assigned a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $652.50.

Insider Transactions at Mastercard

In related news, CFO J. Mehra Sachin sold 17,263 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, September 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $591.00, for a total value of $10,202,433.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 31,234 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $18,459,294. This represents a 35.60% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 0.09% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.