Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) Position Increased by Fifth Third Wealth Advisors LLC

Fifth Third Wealth Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) by 9.4% in the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 6,861 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after buying an additional 588 shares during the quarter. Fifth Third Wealth Advisors LLC’s holdings in Mastercard were worth $3,304,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Westend Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Mastercard in the 1st quarter valued at about $27,000. VitalStone Financial LLC increased its holdings 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 purchasing an additional 45 shares during the period. Altshuler Shaham Ltd acquired a new position in shares of Mastercard in the 4th quarter valued at about $26,000. LFA Lugano Financial Advisors SA acquired a new position in shares of Mastercard in the 4th quarter valued at about $27,000. Finally, Scarborough Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Mastercard in the 4th quarter valued at about $28,000. 97.28% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Mastercard Stock Performance

Shares of MA traded down $1.59 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $441.16. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 3,669,732 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,443,520. Mastercard Incorporated has a one year low of $359.77 and a one year high of $490.00. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.86, a quick ratio of 1.09 and a current ratio of 1.09. The firm has a market capitalization of $410.11 billion, a PE ratio of 35.22, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.77 and a beta of 1.09. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $452.02 and its two-hundred day moving average is $452.77.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 1st. The credit services provider reported $3.31 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.22 by $0.09. Mastercard had a return on equity of 183.70% and a net margin of 46.09%. The company had revenue of $6.35 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.34 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $2.80 earnings per share. Mastercard’s revenue for the quarter was up 10.4% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Mastercard Incorporated will post 14.26 EPS for the current year.

Mastercard Announces Dividend

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. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, July 9th. This represents a $2.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.60%. Mastercard’s dividend payout ratio is 20.99%.

Insider Activity

In related news, major shareholder Foundation Mastercard sold 151,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $452.55, for a total value of $68,335,050.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 95,930,308 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $43,413,260,885.40. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In related news, major shareholder Foundation Mastercard sold 151,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $452.55, for a total value of $68,335,050.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 95,930,308 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $43,413,260,885.40. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Sandra A. Arkell sold 300 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $454.00, for a total value of $136,200.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 3,463 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,572,202. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders sold 3,163,228 shares of company stock valued at $1,428,540,870. 0.10% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have recently weighed in on MA. Evercore ISI dropped their target price on Mastercard from $540.00 to $525.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday. Robert W. Baird increased their price objective on Mastercard from $525.00 to $545.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, April 18th. Mizuho dropped their price objective on Mastercard from $480.00 to $478.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, May 2nd. TD Cowen initiated coverage on Mastercard in a report on Thursday, April 11th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $545.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, Morgan Stanley dropped their price objective on Mastercard from $536.00 to $524.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, May 2nd. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-three have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $496.91.

About Mastercard

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.