Aspiriant LLC Increases Stock Holdings in Mastercard Incorporated $MA

Aspiriant LLC lifted its position in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) by 7.0% in the second quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 3,326 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 219 shares during the quarter. Aspiriant LLC’s holdings in Mastercard were worth $1,869,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of MA. Brighton Jones LLC boosted its stake in Mastercard by 42.3% during the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 6,824 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $3,594,000 after buying an additional 2,028 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its stake in Mastercard by 19.9% during the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 15,007 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $8,226,000 after buying an additional 2,493 shares during the period. Centennial Wealth Advisory LLC boosted its stake in Mastercard by 4.9% during the first quarter. Centennial Wealth Advisory LLC now owns 470 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $258,000 after buying an additional 22 shares during the period. Global X Japan Co. Ltd. purchased a new position in Mastercard during the first quarter worth about $54,000. Finally, DecisionMap Wealth Management LLC boosted its stake in Mastercard by 3.2% during the first quarter. DecisionMap Wealth Management LLC now owns 766 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $420,000 after buying an additional 24 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 97.28% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have weighed in on MA shares. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Mastercard from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Saturday. Royal Bank Of Canada increased their target price on shares of 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 shares of Mastercard in a research report on Monday, June 23rd. Robert W. Baird increased their price target on shares of Mastercard from $640.00 to $660.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, October 6th. Finally, Morgan Stanley increased their price target on shares of Mastercard from $639.00 to $661.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, August 1st. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-five have issued a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $634.04.

Insiders Place Their Bets

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

Mastercard Stock Up 2.1%

Shares of NYSE:MA opened at $561.42 on Friday. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $580.22 and its 200 day moving average price is $563.16. The stock has a market cap of $507.53 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 37.86, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.25 and a beta of 0.97. Mastercard Incorporated has a fifty-two week low of $465.59 and a fifty-two week high of $601.77. 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 issued 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. The firm had revenue of $8.13 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $7.95 billion. Mastercard had a net margin of 44.93% and a return on equity of 200.01%. The firm’s revenue was up 16.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $3.50 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Mastercard Incorporated will post 15.91 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Mastercard Dividend Announcement

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

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.