Argent Advisors Inc. Purchases Shares of 703 Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA)

Argent Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA - Free Report) during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 703 shares of the credit services provider's stock, valued at approximately $385,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the business. NewSquare Capital LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Mastercard during the fourth quarter worth about $26,000. Measured Risk Portfolios Inc. purchased a new position in Mastercard during the 4th quarter worth approximately $31,000. Halbert Hargrove Global Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Mastercard during the 4th quarter worth approximately $32,000. Navigoe LLC acquired a new position in Mastercard during the fourth quarter worth approximately $33,000. Finally, 10Elms LLP purchased a new stake in Mastercard in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $33,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 97.28% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Mastercard

In other Mastercard news, insider Craig Vosburg sold 9,428 shares of Mastercard stock in a transaction dated Friday, June 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $353.05, for a total value of $3,328,555.40. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 58,451 shares in the company, valued at $20,636,125.55. The trade was a 13.89% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, insider Linda Pistecchia Kirkpatrick sold 958 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 30th. The shares were 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. This represents a 3.90% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 38,441 shares of company stock valued at $20,173,035. 0.09% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Mastercard Price Performance

Mastercard stock traded up $2.95 during midday trading on Tuesday, reaching $564.89. 3,826,987 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,673,697. The firm's 50-day simple moving average is $564.18 and its 200-day simple moving average is $545.76. Mastercard Incorporated has a 1 year low of $428.86 and a 1 year high of $594.71. The company has a market capitalization of $515.02 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 39.61, a P/E/G ratio of 2.45 and a beta of 1.02. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.81, a quick ratio of 1.11 and a current ratio of 1.11.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 1st. The credit services provider reported $3.73 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $3.57 by $0.16. The business had revenue of $7.25 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.12 billion. Mastercard had a net margin of 45.21% and a return on equity of 196.87%. The company's quarterly revenue was up 14.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $3.31 earnings per share. On average, analysts anticipate that Mastercard Incorporated will post 15.91 EPS for the current year.

Mastercard Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 8th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, July 9th will be paid a dividend of $0.76 per share. This represents a $3.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.54%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, July 9th. Mastercard's dividend payout ratio is presently 21.32%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have commented on the company. Wolfe Research set a $655.00 price objective on Mastercard in a research note on Monday, June 23rd. UBS Group upped their price target on Mastercard from $660.00 to $670.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 3rd. Tigress Financial reaffirmed a "strong-buy" rating on shares of Mastercard in a report on Monday, March 10th. Macquarie dropped their price objective on shares of Mastercard from $645.00 to $610.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, May 2nd. Finally, Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Mastercard from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Saturday, June 14th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-four have given a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $611.50.

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.