Howard Capital Management Inc. Acquires 92 Shares of Mastercard Incorporated $MA

Howard Capital Management Inc. grew its holdings in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) by 1.6% in the second quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 5,791 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 92 shares during the period. Howard Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in Mastercard were worth $3,254,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

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

Mastercard Price Performance

Mastercard stock opened at $571.51 on Tuesday. The firm has a market cap of $516.65 billion, a PE ratio of 38.54, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.35 and a beta of 0.97. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.41, a current ratio of 1.16 and a quick ratio of 1.16. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $579.25 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $566.75. Mastercard Incorporated has a one year low of $465.59 and a one year high of $601.77.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA) last released its earnings results on Thursday, July 31st. The credit services provider reported $4.15 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.05 by $0.10. Mastercard had a return on equity of 200.01% and a net margin of 44.93%.The firm had revenue of $8.13 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.95 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $3.50 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 16.8% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts expect that Mastercard Incorporated will post 15.91 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Mastercard Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 7th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, October 9th will be given a dividend of $0.76 per share. This represents a $3.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.5%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, October 9th. Mastercard’s payout ratio is currently 20.50%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have weighed in on MA shares. Truist Financial set a $638.00 price target on shares of Mastercard in a report on Friday. KeyCorp reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and issued a $665.00 target price on shares of Mastercard in a research report on Wednesday, October 22nd. The Goldman Sachs Group reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Mastercard in a research note on Friday, August 1st. Seaport Res Ptn upgraded Mastercard from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday, July 14th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft initiated coverage on Mastercard in a report on Thursday, July 17th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $650.00 price objective on the stock. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-two have assigned a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Mastercard has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $638.96.

Insider Buying and Selling

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 transaction of $10,456,032.24. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 31,234 shares in the company, valued at $18,330,922.26. This represents a 36.32% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 0.09% 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.