Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) Shares Purchased by Blue Trust Inc.

Blue Trust Inc. raised its position in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) by 94.9% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 5,723 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 2,786 shares during the quarter. Blue Trust Inc.’s holdings in Mastercard were worth $2,756,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Altshuler Shaham Ltd acquired a new position in Mastercard during the 4th quarter worth $26,000. VitalStone Financial LLC grew its position in shares of Mastercard by 300.0% during the fourth quarter. VitalStone Financial LLC now owns 60 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $26,000 after buying an additional 45 shares in the last quarter. Westend Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Mastercard during the first quarter worth approximately $27,000. Palisade Asset Management LLC acquired a new stake in Mastercard in the first quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Finally, Scarborough Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Mastercard in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $28,000. 97.28% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Mastercard Price Performance

Shares of MA traded up $0.17 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $468.88. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 1,922,047 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,490,054. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $448.57 and a 200 day simple moving average of $458.08. Mastercard Incorporated has a 1-year low of $359.77 and a 1-year high of $490.00. The firm has a market capitalization of $435.88 billion, a P/E ratio of 37.27, a P/E/G ratio of 1.82 and a beta of 1.09. The company has a current ratio of 1.14, a quick ratio of 1.09 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.95.

Mastercard Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 9th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, July 9th were given a dividend of $0.66 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, July 9th. This represents a $2.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.56%. Mastercard’s payout ratio is currently 20.99%.

Insider Transactions at Mastercard

In other Mastercard news, CFO J. Mehra Sachin sold 13,439 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $455.00, for a total transaction of $6,114,745.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 27,304 shares in the company, valued at $12,423,320. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. In related news, CFO J. Mehra Sachin sold 13,439 shares of Mastercard stock in a transaction on Monday, August 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $455.00, for a total transaction of $6,114,745.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 27,304 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $12,423,320. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, major shareholder Foundation Mastercard sold 138,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, June 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $453.19, for a total value of $62,540,220.00. Following the sale, the insider now owns 92,152,308 shares in the company, valued at $41,762,504,462.52. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 1,627,175 shares of company stock valued at $730,399,436 in the last ninety days. 0.10% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Susquehanna raised their price objective on shares of Mastercard from $535.00 to $540.00 and gave the company a “positive” rating in a report on Thursday, August 1st. Royal Bank of Canada increased their price objective on Mastercard from $500.00 to $526.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, August 1st. Argus upgraded shares of Mastercard to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 1st. Evercore ISI dropped their target price on shares of Mastercard from $540.00 to $525.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, June 25th. Finally, Morgan Stanley decreased their price objective on shares of Mastercard from $536.00 to $524.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, May 2nd. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-one have issued a buy rating and four have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $508.91.

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.