Bravias Capital Group LLC Makes New Investment in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA)

Key Points

• Bravias Capital Group LLC acquired 591 shares of Mastercard, valued at approximately $324,000, marking a new position in the company during the first quarter.
• Analysts have issued mostly positive ratings for Mastercard, with 25 out of 32 recommending a "buy" rating and a price target rising to an average of $615.33.
• Mastercard recently announced a quarterly dividend of $0.76 per share, indicating a 0.5% yield, with a payout ratio of 21.32% of its earnings.

Bravias Capital Group LLC bought a new stake in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA - Free Report) during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm bought 591 shares of the credit services provider's stock, valued at approximately $324,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of MA. FMR LLC raised its holdings in Mastercard by 4.3% in the 4th quarter. FMR LLC now owns 22,267,937 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $11,725,627,000 after acquiring an additional 912,856 shares during the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp boosted its stake in shares of Mastercard by 15.2% in the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 9,149,181 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $4,817,684,000 after purchasing an additional 1,207,787 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its position in shares of Mastercard by 65,631.5% during the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 8,225,637 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $4,508,636,000 after acquiring an additional 8,213,123 shares during the last quarter. Nuveen Asset Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Mastercard by 1.0% during the 4th quarter. Nuveen Asset Management LLC now owns 7,610,333 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $4,007,373,000 after buying an additional 71,874 shares during the last quarter. Finally, UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC grew its holdings in Mastercard by 11.5% during the 4th quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 7,033,571 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $3,703,667,000 after acquiring an additional 724,887 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 97.28% of the company's stock.

Insider Transactions at Mastercard

In related news, insider Linda Pistecchia Kirkpatrick sold 959 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, June 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $572.86, for a total value of $549,372.74. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 25,540 shares in the company, valued at approximately $14,630,844.40. The trade was a 3.62% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Julius Genachowski sold 312 shares of Mastercard stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $570.67, for a total transaction of $178,049.04. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 8,469 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $4,833,004.23. This trade represents a 3.55% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 38,753 shares of company stock worth $20,351,084 in the last quarter. 0.09% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Mastercard Stock Performance

NYSE:MA traded up $3.14 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, hitting $569.18. The stock had a trading volume of 2,245,042 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,608,880. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $564.52 and a 200-day simple moving average of $552.56. The stock has a market capitalization of $518.93 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 38.38, a P/E/G ratio of 2.32 and a beta of 1.03. The company has a current ratio of 1.16, a quick ratio of 1.16 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.41. Mastercard Incorporated has a 52 week low of $449.04 and a 52 week high of $594.71.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, July 31st. The credit services provider reported $4.15 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $4.05 by $0.10. Mastercard had a return on equity of 200.01% and a net margin of 44.93%. The company had revenue of $8.13 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $7.95 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $3.50 EPS. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 16.8% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts expect that Mastercard Incorporated will post 15.91 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Mastercard Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 8th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, July 9th will be issued a dividend of $0.76 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, July 9th. This represents a $3.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.5%. Mastercard's dividend payout ratio is currently 20.50%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on MA shares. Wolfe Research set a $655.00 price target on Mastercard in a research report on Monday, June 23rd. Morgan Stanley raised their target price on shares of Mastercard from $639.00 to $661.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, August 1st. Evercore ISI initiated coverage on shares of Mastercard in a research note on Wednesday, April 9th. They issued an "in-line" rating and a $550.00 price objective on the stock. Macquarie reduced their price objective on shares of Mastercard from $645.00 to $610.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, May 2nd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on shares of Mastercard from $625.00 to $650.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, August 1st. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-five have given a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Mastercard presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $615.33.

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.