AlphaQuest LLC Acquires 3,645 Shares of Mastercard Incorporated $MA

Key Points

• AlphaQuest LLC significantly increased its stake in Mastercard by 670% during the first quarter, bringing its total holdings to 4,189 shares valued at approximately $2.30 million.
• Mastercard reported earnings of $4.15 per share, surpassing analysts' expectations, with revenue of $8.13 billion, a 16.8% increase compared to the previous year.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend of $0.76 per share, representing a 0.5% yield, and its payout ratio stands at 20.50%.

AlphaQuest LLC grew its position in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA - Free Report) by 670.0% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 4,189 shares of the credit services provider's stock after buying an additional 3,645 shares during the quarter. AlphaQuest LLC's holdings in Mastercard were worth $2,296,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Accredited Investors Inc. increased its position in shares of Mastercard by 2.6% in the first quarter. Accredited Investors Inc. now owns 718 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $394,000 after buying an additional 18 shares in the last quarter. Wealthstream Advisors Inc. boosted its stake in Mastercard by 2.9% in the 1st quarter. Wealthstream Advisors Inc. now owns 632 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $347,000 after buying an additional 18 shares during the last quarter. Phillips Wealth Planners LLC boosted its stake in Mastercard by 1.8% in the 1st quarter. Phillips Wealth Planners LLC now owns 1,055 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $538,000 after buying an additional 19 shares during the last quarter. Alta Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Mastercard by 3.6% in the 1st quarter. Alta Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 540 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $296,000 after purchasing an additional 19 shares in the last quarter. Finally, May Hill Capital LLC lifted its stake in shares of Mastercard by 2.0% in the 1st quarter. May Hill Capital LLC now owns 986 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $540,000 after purchasing an additional 19 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 97.28% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts recently commented on the company. KeyCorp boosted their price target on Mastercard from $635.00 to $660.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, August 1st. Jefferies Financial Group reiterated a "buy" rating on shares of Mastercard in a report on Friday, June 6th. Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on Mastercard from $639.00 to $661.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, August 1st. UBS Group boosted their price objective on Mastercard from $660.00 to $670.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, June 3rd. Finally, Truist Financial reduced their price objective on Mastercard from $640.00 to $612.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, July 17th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-four have assigned a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $617.93.

Insider Activity at Mastercard

In related news, insider Linda Pistecchia Kirkpatrick sold 958 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Monday, June 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $560.00, for a total transaction of $536,480.00. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 23,624 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $13,229,440. The trade was a 3.90% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider Raj Seshadri sold 1,100 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Friday, June 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $546.77, for a total value of $601,447.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 12,921 shares in the company, valued at $7,064,815.17. This trade represents a 7.85% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 56,269 shares of company stock valued at $30,634,699 over the last ninety days. Company insiders own 0.09% of the company's stock.

Mastercard Price Performance

Shares of Mastercard stock traded down $5.62 during trading on Monday, hitting $593.34. The stock had a trading volume of 1,982,653 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,798,514. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.41, a current ratio of 1.16 and a quick ratio of 1.16. The firm has a market cap of $536.39 billion, a P/E ratio of 40.01, a PEG ratio of 2.46 and a beta of 1.03. The business has a fifty day moving average of $564.03 and a two-hundred day moving average of $555.58. Mastercard Incorporated has a fifty-two week low of $465.59 and a fifty-two week high of $601.77.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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. The business had revenue of $8.13 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.95 billion. Mastercard had a return on equity of 200.01% and a net margin of 44.93%.The company's revenue was up 16.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $3.50 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Mastercard Incorporated will post 15.91 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Mastercard Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 8th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, July 9th were given a dividend of $0.76 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, July 9th. This represents a $3.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.5%. Mastercard's payout ratio is 20.50%.

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.