Atticus Wealth Management LLC Boosts Holdings in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA)

Atticus Wealth Management LLC lifted its stake in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) by 1.3% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 1,734 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 23 shares during the quarter. Atticus Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in Mastercard were worth $835,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in shares of Mastercard by 1.0% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 75,253,734 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $32,096,470,000 after purchasing an additional 742,076 shares during the last quarter. Capital International Investors increased its holdings in Mastercard by 3.3% in the 4th quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 21,041,685 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $8,974,478,000 after buying an additional 676,452 shares in the last quarter. Capital Research Global Investors increased its holdings in Mastercard by 4.7% in the 4th quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 13,608,023 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $5,803,956,000 after buying an additional 605,909 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new stake in Mastercard in the 4th quarter worth about $4,595,559,000. Finally, Ameriprise Financial Inc. increased its holdings in Mastercard by 5.9% in the 3rd quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 5,510,259 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $2,181,964,000 after buying an additional 306,663 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 97.28% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

MA has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Susquehanna reiterated a “positive” rating and issued a $535.00 price objective on shares of Mastercard in a report on Wednesday, April 3rd. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on Mastercard from $490.00 to $530.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 6th. Evercore ISI reduced their price objective on Mastercard from $540.00 to $525.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, June 25th. Robert W. Baird lifted 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. Finally, TD Cowen began coverage on Mastercard in a research note on Thursday, April 11th. They set a “buy” rating and a $545.00 price target for the company. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-three have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $496.91.

Insider Activity

In other news, major shareholder Foundation Mastercard sold 109,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, April 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $462.78, for a total transaction of $50,443,020.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 96,996,308 shares in the company, valued at approximately $44,887,951,416.24. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In related news, insider Craig Vosburg sold 9,028 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, June 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $451.06, for a total value of $4,072,169.68. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 58,940 shares in the company, valued at $26,585,476.40. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, major shareholder Foundation Mastercard sold 109,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, April 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $462.78, for a total value of $50,443,020.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 96,996,308 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $44,887,951,416.24. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 3,163,228 shares of company stock worth $1,428,540,870. 0.10% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Mastercard Price Performance

MA stock traded down $1.59 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $441.16. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 4,105,179 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,467,253. Mastercard Incorporated has a 12 month low of $359.77 and a 12 month high of $490.00. The company has a quick ratio of 1.09, a current ratio of 1.09 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.86. The firm has a market capitalization of $410.11 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 35.07, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.72 and a beta of 1.09. The company has a 50 day moving average of $451.50 and a two-hundred day moving average of $453.11.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 1st. The credit services provider reported $3.31 earnings per share for the quarter, topping 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 business had revenue of $6.35 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.34 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $2.80 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 10.4% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts expect that Mastercard Incorporated will post 14.26 EPS for the current year.

Mastercard Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 9th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, July 9th will be paid a $0.66 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, July 9th. This represents a $2.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.60%. Mastercard’s payout ratio is 20.99%.

Mastercard 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.