Czech National Bank Grows Holdings in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA)

Czech National Bank increased its position in shares of Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) by 7.4% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 167,963 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after buying an additional 11,513 shares during the period. Mastercard comprises approximately 0.8% of Czech National Bank’s holdings, making the stock its 17th biggest holding. Czech National Bank’s holdings in Mastercard were worth $82,940,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in MA. Lowe Wealth Advisors LLC increased its position 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 worth $43,000 after purchasing an additional 37 shares during the last quarter. Boltwood Capital Management increased its position in shares of Mastercard by 3.1% in the 3rd quarter. Boltwood Capital Management now owns 2,035 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $1,005,000 after purchasing an additional 61 shares during the last quarter. Trust Co of the South bought a new stake in shares of Mastercard in the 3rd quarter worth about $448,000. Trust Co. of Toledo NA OH increased its position in shares of Mastercard by 11.5% in the 3rd quarter. Trust Co. of Toledo NA OH now owns 11,101 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $5,482,000 after purchasing an additional 1,144 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Abacus Planning Group Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Mastercard in the 3rd quarter worth about $220,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 97.28% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

MA has been the subject of several research reports. Susquehanna lifted their price target on shares of Mastercard from $535.00 to $540.00 and gave the company a “positive” rating in a report on Thursday, August 1st. Barclays lifted their price target on shares of Mastercard from $530.00 to $536.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, August 5th. BMO Capital Markets reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $520.00 price target on shares of Mastercard in a report on Wednesday, August 14th. Compass Point initiated coverage on shares of Mastercard in a report on Wednesday, September 4th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $525.00 price target for the company. Finally, KeyCorp lifted their price target on shares of Mastercard from $490.00 to $515.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, August 1st. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty have issued a buy rating and three have given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Mastercard currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $517.22.

Mastercard Trading Down 0.1 %

Shares of NYSE:MA opened at $494.94 on Friday. The company has a 50 day moving average of $475.36 and a 200-day moving average of $462.47. The firm has a market cap of $460.10 billion, a P/E ratio of 39.34, a P/E/G ratio of 1.96 and a beta of 1.10. Mastercard Incorporated has a twelve month low of $359.77 and a twelve month high of $501.80. The company has a current ratio of 1.14, a quick ratio of 1.14 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.95.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 31st. The credit services provider reported $3.59 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.51 by $0.08. Mastercard had a net margin of 46.45% and a return on equity of 179.78%. The company had revenue of $6.96 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.85 billion. As a group, analysts anticipate that Mastercard Incorporated will post 14.29 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Mastercard Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 8th. Investors of record on Wednesday, October 9th will be issued a $0.66 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, October 9th. This represents a $2.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.53%. Mastercard’s payout ratio is currently 20.99%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CMO Venkata R. Madabhushi sold 4,685 shares of the business’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 in the company, valued at approximately $7,363,085.66. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other news, major shareholder Foundation Mastercard sold 90,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $468.80, for a total transaction of $42,192,000.00. Following the sale, the insider now owns 91,649,308 shares in the company, valued at $42,965,195,590.40. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CMO Venkata R. Madabhushi sold 4,685 shares of the business’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 transaction of $2,294,994.10. Following the sale, the chief marketing officer now owns 15,031 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,363,085.66. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 340,809 shares of company stock worth $159,610,703 in the last ninety days. 0.10% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Mastercard 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.