Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) Stake Lifted by Larson Financial Group LLC

Larson Financial Group LLC increased its stake in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) by 58.9% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 1,489 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 552 shares during the period. Larson Financial Group LLC’s holdings in Mastercard were worth $717,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Altshuler Shaham Ltd acquired a new stake in Mastercard during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $26,000. VitalStone Financial LLC lifted its position in shares of Mastercard by 300.0% in the 4th quarter. VitalStone Financial LLC now owns 60 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $26,000 after acquiring an additional 45 shares in the last quarter. LFA Lugano Financial Advisors SA purchased a new stake in shares of Mastercard in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Westend Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Mastercard in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Finally, Palisade Asset Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Mastercard in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $27,000. 97.28% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

MA has been the topic of several research reports. Robert W. Baird upped their price objective on shares of Mastercard from $525.00 to $545.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 18th. Piper Sandler began coverage on shares of Mastercard in a research note on Monday, May 13th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $531.00 price target on the stock. Evercore ISI dropped their price target on shares of Mastercard from $540.00 to $525.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, June 25th. Susquehanna reiterated a “positive” rating and issued a $535.00 target price on shares of Mastercard in a research note on Wednesday, April 3rd. Finally, Barclays lowered their target price on shares of Mastercard from $549.00 to $530.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, May 6th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-three have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Mastercard currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $498.57.

Mastercard Trading Down 2.5 %

Mastercard stock traded down $11.06 during midday trading on Wednesday, hitting $433.64. 4,757,228 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,472,738. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $449.59 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $454.47. Mastercard Incorporated has a 52 week low of $359.77 and a 52 week high of $490.00. The stock has a market capitalization of $403.12 billion, a PE ratio of 35.35, a P/E/G ratio of 1.74 and a beta of 1.09. The company has a quick ratio of 1.09, a current ratio of 1.09 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.86.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 1st. The credit services provider reported $3.31 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.22 by $0.09. Mastercard had a net margin of 46.09% and a return on equity of 183.70%. The firm had revenue of $6.35 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.34 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $2.80 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 10.4% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts anticipate that Mastercard Incorporated will post 14.26 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Mastercard Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 9th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, July 9th will be given a $0.66 dividend. This represents a $2.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.61%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, July 9th. Mastercard’s dividend payout ratio is presently 20.99%.

Insider Transactions at Mastercard

In other Mastercard news, insider Sandra A. Arkell sold 300 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, May 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $447.23, for a total value of $134,169.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 4,063 shares in the company, valued at $1,817,095.49. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In related news, major shareholder Foundation Mastercard sold 138,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, June 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $453.19, for a total value of $62,540,220.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 92,152,308 shares in the company, valued at $41,762,504,462.52. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider Sandra A. Arkell sold 300 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $447.23, for a total transaction of $134,169.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 4,063 shares in the company, valued at $1,817,095.49. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 3,163,228 shares of company stock valued at $1,428,540,870 over the last 90 days. 0.10% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.