Apollon Wealth Management LLC Has $26.92 Million Position in Mastercard Incorporated $MA

Key Points

• Apollon Wealth Management LLC increased its stake in Mastercard by 7.4% during the second quarter, bringing its holdings to $26.92 million with 47,898 shares owned.
• Mastercard recently declared a $0.76 per share quarterly dividend, with an annualized yield of 0.5% and a payout ratio of 20.50%.
• Analysts have shown strong confidence in Mastercard, with a consensus "Buy" rating and a target price of $634.04, following several upgrades from firms like Deutsche Bank and Morgan Stanley.

Apollon Wealth Management LLC raised its position in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA - Free Report) by 7.4% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 47,898 shares of the credit services provider's stock after acquiring an additional 3,284 shares during the quarter. Apollon Wealth Management LLC's holdings in Mastercard were worth $26,916,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in MA. Accredited Investors Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Mastercard by 2.6% during the 1st quarter. Accredited Investors Inc. now owns 718 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $394,000 after buying an additional 18 shares during the last quarter. Wealthstream Advisors Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Mastercard by 2.9% during 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. KRS Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Mastercard by 0.6% during the 2nd quarter. KRS Capital Management LLC now owns 2,848 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $1,601,000 after buying an additional 18 shares during the last quarter. Pinion Investment Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Mastercard by 0.8% during the 2nd quarter. Pinion Investment Advisors LLC now owns 2,272 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $1,276,000 after buying an additional 18 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Phillips Wealth Planners LLC lifted its stake in shares of Mastercard by 1.8% during 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. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 97.28% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity

In related news, CFO J. Mehra Sachin sold 17,263 shares of Mastercard stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, September 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $591.00, for a total transaction of $10,202,433.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 31,234 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $18,459,294. The trade was a 35.60% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 0.09% of the company's stock.

Mastercard Trading Down 1.4%

Shares of Mastercard stock opened at $556.80 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $503.35 billion, a PE ratio of 37.55, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.31 and a beta of 0.97. The company has a current ratio of 1.16, a quick ratio of 1.16 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.41. The firm's 50 day moving average is $581.01 and its 200 day moving average is $562.77. Mastercard Incorporated has a 1 year low of $465.59 and a 1 year high of $601.77.

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

Mastercard Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 7th. Investors of record on Thursday, October 9th will be issued a dividend of $0.76 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, October 9th. This represents a $3.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.5%. Mastercard's payout ratio is 20.50%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

MA has been the subject of a number of research reports. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft initiated coverage on shares of Mastercard in a research note on Thursday, July 17th. They set a "buy" rating and a $650.00 target price for the company. Robert W. Baird raised their price target on shares of Mastercard from $640.00 to $660.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Monday. KeyCorp raised their price target on shares of Mastercard from $635.00 to $660.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, August 1st. Morgan Stanley raised their price target on shares of Mastercard from $639.00 to $661.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, August 1st. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on shares of Mastercard from $625.00 to $650.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, August 1st. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-five have given a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Buy" and a consensus target price of $634.04.

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.

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