Smart Money Group LLC Purchases New Holdings in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA)

by · The Markets Daily

Smart Money Group LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA – Free Report) in the 1st quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm acquired 1,508 shares of the credit services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $826,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in MA. Resonant Capital Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Mastercard by 6.4% during the first quarter. Resonant Capital Advisors LLC now owns 6,329 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $3,469,000 after purchasing an additional 378 shares in the last quarter. Capital Investment Counsel Inc increased its position in Mastercard by 25.4% during the 1st quarter. Capital Investment Counsel Inc now owns 494 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $271,000 after purchasing an additional 100 shares during the period. Latitude Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Mastercard by 20.3% during the 1st quarter. Latitude Advisors LLC now owns 1,609 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $882,000 after buying an additional 271 shares in the last quarter. Revisor Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Mastercard in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $418,000. Finally, Novem Group boosted its stake in shares of Mastercard by 29.2% in the first quarter. Novem Group now owns 5,130 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $2,812,000 after buying an additional 1,159 shares in the last quarter. 97.28% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have issued reports on MA shares. UBS Group increased their price objective on Mastercard from $660.00 to $670.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, June 3rd. Tigress Financial reiterated a “strong-buy” rating on shares of Mastercard in a research note on Monday, March 10th. Macquarie lowered their target price on shares of Mastercard from $645.00 to $610.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, May 2nd. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Mastercard from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, June 14th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Mastercard in a research note on Friday, June 6th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-four have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $611.50.

Check Out Our Latest Stock Report on Mastercard

Mastercard Stock Performance

Mastercard stock opened at $561.75 on Thursday. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $565.55 and a 200 day moving average price of $546.00. Mastercard Incorporated has a 52 week low of $428.86 and a 52 week high of $594.71. The firm has a market capitalization of $512.15 billion, a P/E ratio of 39.39, a PEG ratio of 2.45 and a beta of 1.02. The company has a current ratio of 1.11, a quick ratio of 1.11 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.81.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA – Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 1st. The credit services provider reported $3.73 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.57 by $0.16. Mastercard had a net margin of 45.21% and a return on equity of 196.87%. The company had revenue of $7.25 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.12 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $3.31 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 14.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts anticipate that Mastercard Incorporated will post 15.91 earnings per share for the current year.

Mastercard Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 8th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, July 9th will be issued a $0.76 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, July 9th. This represents a $3.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.54%. Mastercard’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 21.32%.

Insider Activity at Mastercard

In related news, insider Sandra A. Arkell sold 150 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, May 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $580.00, for a total value of $87,000.00. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 3,255 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,887,900. This trade represents a 4.41% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Linda Pistecchia Kirkpatrick sold 958 shares of Mastercard stock in a transaction on Monday, June 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $560.00, for a total value of $536,480.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 23,624 shares in the company, valued at $13,229,440. The trade was a 3.90% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders sold 38,441 shares of company stock worth $20,173,035. 0.09% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Mastercard Company Profile

(Free Report)

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.

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