Assenagon Asset Management S.A. Acquires 332,473 Shares of Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA)

Assenagon Asset Management S.A. lifted its stake in shares of Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA - Free Report) by 112.0% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 629,204 shares of the credit services provider's stock after buying an additional 332,473 shares during the period. Mastercard comprises about 0.6% of Assenagon Asset Management S.A.'s holdings, making the stock its 24th largest position. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. owned approximately 0.07% of Mastercard worth $310,701,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Palisade Asset Management LLC purchased a new position in Mastercard in the first quarter worth $27,000. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL purchased a new position in Mastercard in the second quarter worth $34,000. Fairway Wealth LLC purchased a new position in Mastercard in the second quarter worth $35,000. Lowe Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its position in Mastercard by 74.0% in the third quarter. Lowe Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 87 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $43,000 after purchasing an additional 37 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Valued Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its position in Mastercard by 168.6% in the first quarter. Valued Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 94 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $45,000 after purchasing an additional 59 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 97.28% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have weighed in on the company. BMO Capital Markets reissued an "outperform" rating and issued a $520.00 price objective on shares of Mastercard in a research report on Wednesday, August 14th. Barclays boosted their target price on Mastercard from $536.00 to $576.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, October 10th. Compass Point assumed coverage on Mastercard in a research note on Wednesday, September 4th. They issued a "neutral" rating and a $525.00 target price on the stock. TD Cowen boosted their target price on Mastercard from $532.00 to $533.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, August 1st. Finally, KeyCorp boosted their target price on Mastercard from $490.00 to $515.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, August 1st. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eighteen have issued a buy rating and three have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Mastercard currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $525.68.

Insider Transactions at Mastercard

In other news, major shareholder Foundation Mastercard sold 119,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $468.46, for a total value of $55,746,740.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 92,033,308 shares in the company, valued at approximately $43,113,923,465.68. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. In related news, CMO Venkata R. Madabhushi sold 4,685 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, September 13th. The stock was 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 directly owns 17,118 shares in the company, valued at $8,440,885.80. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, major shareholder Foundation Mastercard sold 119,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $468.46, for a total value of $55,746,740.00. Following the sale, the insider now owns 92,033,308 shares of the company's stock, valued at $43,113,923,465.68. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 340,809 shares of company stock worth $159,610,703. 0.10% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Mastercard Price Performance

Mastercard stock traded down $3.25 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $510.48. 1,911,997 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,433,052. Mastercard Incorporated has a 52-week low of $359.77 and a 52-week high of $518.82. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $490.23 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $464.93. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.95, a quick ratio of 1.14 and a current ratio of 1.14. The company has a market cap of $474.55 billion, a P/E ratio of 40.63, a PEG ratio of 2.22 and a beta of 1.10.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, July 31st. The credit services provider reported $3.59 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.51 by $0.08. Mastercard had a return on equity of 179.78% and a net margin of 46.45%. The business had revenue of $6.96 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $6.85 billion. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Mastercard Incorporated will post 14.3 earnings per share for the current year.

Mastercard Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 8th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, October 9th will be issued a $0.66 dividend. This represents a $2.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.52%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, October 9th. Mastercard's payout ratio is currently 20.99%.

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.