Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC Grows Stock Holdings in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA)

Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC lifted its position in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) by 12.8% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 8,488 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after buying an additional 960 shares during the quarter. Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC’s holdings in Mastercard were worth $4,087,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of MA. Altshuler Shaham Ltd acquired a new position in Mastercard during the 4th quarter worth $26,000. VitalStone Financial LLC increased its stake 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 during the period. LFA Lugano Financial Advisors SA acquired a new stake in Mastercard in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Westend Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in Mastercard in the first quarter worth approximately $27,000. Finally, Scarborough Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Mastercard during the 4th quarter worth approximately $28,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 97.28% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

MA has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. 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. Evercore ISI cut their price objective on shares of Mastercard from $540.00 to $525.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, June 25th. Piper Sandler initiated coverage on shares of Mastercard in a report on Monday, May 13th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $531.00 target price for the company. Robert W. Baird lifted their price target on shares of Mastercard from $525.00 to $545.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 18th. Finally, Barclays decreased their price objective on shares of Mastercard from $549.00 to $530.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, May 6th. Two investment 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 company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $496.91.

Mastercard Price Performance

Shares of MA stock traded down $0.97 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $447.21. 515,594 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,453,555. The firm has a market cap of $415.73 billion, a PE ratio of 35.61, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.75 and a beta of 1.09. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.86, a current ratio of 1.09 and a quick ratio of 1.09. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $450.19 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $453.55. Mastercard Incorporated has a 1-year low of $359.77 and a 1-year high of $490.00.

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

Mastercard Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 9th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, July 9th will be issued a $0.66 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, July 9th. This represents a $2.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.59%. Mastercard’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 20.99%.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Sandra A. Arkell sold 300 shares of Mastercard 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 sale, the insider now directly owns 4,063 shares in the company, valued at $1,817,095.49. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. In other news, insider Sandra A. Arkell sold 300 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, May 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $447.23, for a total transaction of $134,169.00. Following the sale, the insider now owns 4,063 shares in the company, valued at $1,817,095.49. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Craig Vosburg sold 9,028 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, June 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $447.28, for a total value of $4,038,043.84. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 58,940 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $26,362,683.20. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 3,163,228 shares of company stock worth $1,428,540,870 over the last three months. 0.10% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.