Kovack Advisors Inc. Has $1.26 Million Position in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA)

Kovack Advisors Inc. increased its holdings in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) by 30.6% in the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 2,549 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after buying an additional 597 shares during the quarter. Kovack Advisors Inc.’s holdings in Mastercard were worth $1,259,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Highline Wealth Partners LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Mastercard during the 3rd quarter worth about $25,000. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL acquired a new stake in shares of Mastercard during the second quarter worth approximately $34,000. Fairway Wealth LLC bought a new position in shares of Mastercard in the second quarter valued at approximately $35,000. First Personal Financial Services acquired a new position in shares of Mastercard in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $39,000. Finally, Lowe Wealth Advisors LLC grew its position in Mastercard by 74.0% during the 3rd quarter. Lowe Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 87 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $43,000 after acquiring an additional 37 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 97.28% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Mastercard

In related news, CMO Venkata R. Madabhushi sold 4,685 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, September 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $493.10, for a total value of $2,310,173.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief marketing officer now directly owns 17,118 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,440,885.80. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In related news, CMO Venkata R. Madabhushi sold 4,685 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, September 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $493.10, for a total value of $2,310,173.50. Following the sale, the chief marketing officer now directly owns 17,118 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,440,885.80. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, major shareholder Foundation Mastercard sold 90,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $468.80, for a total value of $42,192,000.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 91,649,308 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $42,965,195,590.40. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 327,370 shares of company stock valued at $153,495,958 over the last 90 days. 0.10% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Mastercard Stock Down 1.4 %

Mastercard stock opened at $521.50 on Thursday. Mastercard Incorporated has a fifty-two week low of $394.76 and a fifty-two week high of $534.03. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.36, a current ratio of 1.29 and a quick ratio of 1.29. The firm has a market capitalization of $478.65 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 39.45, a PEG ratio of 2.32 and a beta of 1.10. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $501.55 and its 200 day simple moving average is $469.88.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The credit services provider reported $3.89 earnings per share for the quarter, topping 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 for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $7.27 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $3.39 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 12.8% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Mastercard Incorporated will post 14.45 EPS for the current year.

Mastercard Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 8th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, October 9th were issued a $0.66 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, October 9th. This represents a $2.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.51%. Mastercard’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 19.97%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have issued reports on MA. Mizuho lifted their price objective on Mastercard from $496.00 to $532.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, November 1st. Macquarie upped their price target on shares of Mastercard from $505.00 to $565.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, November 1st. Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on shares of Mastercard from $540.00 to $544.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, November 4th. KeyCorp boosted their target price on shares of Mastercard from $515.00 to $580.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Finally, BMO Capital Markets reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $520.00 price target on shares of Mastercard in a research note on Wednesday, August 14th. Four 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 company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $540.17.

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.