Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) Shares Bought by Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI

Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI boosted its stake in shares of Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA - Free Report) by 15.1% during the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 11,152 shares of the credit services provider's stock after buying an additional 1,464 shares during the period. Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI's holdings in Mastercard were worth $5,507,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd. raised its holdings in shares of Mastercard by 46.4% in the 1st quarter. China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 14,785 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $7,120,000 after buying an additional 4,685 shares during the period. Westwood Holdings Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Mastercard by 56.1% in the 1st quarter. Westwood Holdings Group Inc. now owns 1,094 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $527,000 after buying an additional 393 shares during the period. Stonebridge Capital Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Mastercard by 9.7% in the 1st quarter. Stonebridge Capital Advisors LLC now owns 941 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $453,000 after buying an additional 83 shares during the period. Gamco Investors INC. ET AL increased its holdings in Mastercard by 1.1% during the 1st quarter. Gamco Investors INC. ET AL now owns 25,709 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $12,381,000 after purchasing an additional 288 shares during the period. Finally, Quadrature Capital Ltd purchased a new stake in Mastercard during the 1st quarter worth about $391,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 97.28% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on MA shares. Susquehanna upped their price target on Mastercard from $540.00 to $605.00 and gave the stock a "positive" rating in a report on Friday, November 1st. Bank of America upped their price target on Mastercard from $480.00 to $509.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Tuesday, September 17th. Macquarie upped their price target on Mastercard from $505.00 to $565.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday, November 1st. Argus upgraded Mastercard to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Thursday, August 1st. Finally, Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on Mastercard from $544.00 to $564.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, November 14th. 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. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $549.16.

Insider Activity at Mastercard

In related news, CMO Venkata R. Madabhushi sold 4,685 shares of Mastercard stock in a transaction on Friday, September 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $489.86, for a total value of $2,294,994.10. Following the transaction, the chief marketing officer now owns 15,031 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,363,085.66. This trade represents a 23.76 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 0.10% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Mastercard Price Performance

Mastercard stock traded up $5.66 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $520.76. 3,130,386 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,459,033. 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 business's 50 day simple moving average is $506.36 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $473.05. The company has a market capitalization of $477.97 billion, a P/E ratio of 38.96, a PEG ratio of 2.31 and a beta of 1.10. Mastercard Incorporated has a 12-month low of $404.32 and a 12-month high of $534.03.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 31st. The credit services provider reported $3.89 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.73 by $0.16. Mastercard had a return on equity of 178.27% and a net margin of 45.26%. The business had revenue of $7.37 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $7.27 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $3.39 earnings per share. The business's revenue was up 12.8% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts forecast that Mastercard Incorporated will post 14.47 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Mastercard Announces Dividend

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

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.