Aljian Capital Management LLC Acquires New Stake in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA)

Aljian Capital Management LLC bought a new position in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) in the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 3,049 shares of the credit services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $1,506,000.

A number of other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Capital Research Global Investors grew its holdings in shares of Mastercard by 0.3% during the first quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 13,651,904 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $6,574,347,000 after buying an additional 43,881 shares in the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Mastercard by 120,665.3% during the 3rd quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 8,041,758 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $3,971,020,000 after acquiring an additional 8,035,099 shares in the last quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Mastercard by 1.4% in the second quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 5,082,729 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $2,241,297,000 after purchasing an additional 71,569 shares during the last quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board lifted its position in shares of Mastercard by 2.7% in the second quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board now owns 4,327,168 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $1,908,973,000 after purchasing an additional 113,238 shares in the last quarter. Finally, American Century Companies Inc. boosted its holdings in Mastercard by 0.9% during the second quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 4,250,760 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $1,875,266,000 after purchasing an additional 38,380 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 97.28% of the company’s stock.

Mastercard Price Performance

Shares of Mastercard stock opened at $521.89 on Monday. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $504.09 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $471.38. Mastercard Incorporated has a twelve month low of $395.55 and a twelve month high of $534.03. The stock has a market capitalization of $479.01 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 39.48, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.28 and a beta of 1.10. The company has a quick ratio of 1.29, a current ratio of 1.29 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.36.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The credit services provider reported $3.89 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.73 by $0.16. Mastercard had a net margin of 45.26% and a return on equity of 178.27%. The company had revenue of $7.37 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.27 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $3.39 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 12.8% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts forecast that Mastercard Incorporated will post 14.47 EPS for the current year.

Mastercard Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 8th. Investors of record on Wednesday, October 9th were given a dividend of $0.66 per share. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, October 9th. This represents a $2.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.51%. Mastercard’s dividend payout ratio is 19.97%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Mastercard

In related news, major shareholder Foundation Mastercard sold 90,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $468.80, for a total value of $42,192,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 91,649,308 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $42,965,195,590.40. This represents a 0.10 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, CMO Venkata R. Madabhushi sold 4,685 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, September 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $493.10, for a total transaction of $2,310,173.50. Following the completion of the sale, the chief marketing officer now owns 17,118 shares in the company, valued at $8,440,885.80. This represents a 21.49 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 99,370 shares of company stock valued at $46,797,168 in the last ninety days. 0.10% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have issued reports on MA. Mizuho lifted their price target on shares of Mastercard from $496.00 to $532.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, November 1st. William Blair raised Mastercard to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 31st. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft increased their price target on Mastercard from $510.00 to $580.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, November 1st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price target on Mastercard from $593.00 to $580.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Finally, Citigroup upped their price objective on Mastercard from $566.00 to $572.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, November 4th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-one have assigned a buy rating and three have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $549.16.

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.