Thrivent Financial for Lutherans Acquires 14,696 Shares of Mastercard Incorporated $MA

Thrivent Financial for Lutherans grew its stake in shares of Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) by 11.4% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 144,103 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 14,696 shares during the period. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans’ holdings in Mastercard were worth $80,729,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

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

Mastercard Price Performance

Shares of Mastercard stock opened at $571.40 on Monday. The firm has a market capitalization of $513.12 billion, a PE ratio of 36.53, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.25 and a beta of 0.87. The company has a current ratio of 1.12, a quick ratio of 1.12 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.40. Mastercard Incorporated has a 12 month low of $465.59 and a 12 month high of $601.77. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $554.16 and its 200-day moving average price is $566.33.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, October 30th. The credit services provider reported $4.38 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $4.31 by $0.07. Mastercard had a return on equity of 202.03% and a net margin of 45.28%.The business had revenue of $8.60 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $8.53 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $3.89 earnings per share. Mastercard’s revenue for the quarter was up 16.7% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts forecast that Mastercard Incorporated will post 15.91 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Mastercard Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, February 9th. Stockholders of record on Friday, January 9th will be paid a $0.87 dividend. This is a positive change from Mastercard’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.76. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, January 9th. This represents a $3.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.6%. Mastercard’s dividend payout ratio is currently 19.44%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have commented on MA shares. Macquarie raised their price target on shares of Mastercard from $655.00 to $660.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, October 31st. Tigress Financial boosted their target price on Mastercard from $685.00 to $730.00 and gave the stock a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 6th. The Goldman Sachs Group restated a “buy” rating and issued a $713.00 target price on shares of Mastercard in a research note on Thursday, October 30th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price target on Mastercard from $669.00 to $660.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, October 31st. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada upped their price objective on shares of Mastercard from $645.00 to $654.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, October 31st. Five analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-two have assigned a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Mastercard presently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $654.81.

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.