Ascent Wealth Partners LLC Increases Position in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA)

Ascent Wealth Partners LLC grew its stake in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA - Free Report) by 6.3% during the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 11,272 shares of the credit services provider's stock after acquiring an additional 670 shares during the period. Ascent Wealth Partners LLC's holdings in Mastercard were worth $6,178,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Whalerock Point Partners LLC increased its holdings in shares of Mastercard by 1.3% in the 4th quarter. Whalerock Point Partners LLC now owns 14,678 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $7,729,000 after purchasing an additional 185 shares in the last quarter. Fortis Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Mastercard by 9.4% in the 1st quarter. Fortis Advisors LLC now owns 871 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $477,000 after acquiring an additional 75 shares during the last quarter. Canandaigua National Trust Co of Florida boosted its position in shares of Mastercard by 36.4% in the first quarter. Canandaigua National Trust Co of Florida now owns 693 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $380,000 after acquiring an additional 185 shares during the last quarter. Kingswood Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its position in Mastercard by 18.0% during the first quarter. Kingswood Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 6,870 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $3,766,000 after buying an additional 1,047 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Baldwin Investment Management LLC lifted its position in Mastercard by 5.7% during the fourth quarter. Baldwin Investment Management LLC now owns 1,731 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $911,000 after buying an additional 93 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 97.28% of the company's stock.

Mastercard Stock Performance

NYSE MA traded up $0.21 during trading on Thursday, hitting $555.73. 2,721,925 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,666,439. The business has a 50 day moving average of $567.85 and a 200-day moving average of $548.05. The stock has a market capitalization of $506.66 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 38.97, a PEG ratio of 2.41 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 Incorporated has a 12-month low of $428.86 and a 12-month high of $594.71.

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

Mastercard Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed 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 yield of 0.55%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, July 9th. Mastercard's payout ratio is 21.32%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

MA has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Macquarie dropped their price target 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. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft initiated coverage on shares of Mastercard in a research note on Thursday. They set a "buy" rating and a $650.00 target price for the company. The Goldman Sachs Group restated a "buy" rating and set a $633.00 price target on shares of Mastercard in a research report on Wednesday, April 2nd. Wall Street Zen lowered Mastercard from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Saturday, June 14th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group reiterated a "buy" rating on shares of Mastercard in a research report on Friday, June 6th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-four have assigned a buy rating and three have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $612.90.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Mastercard news, insider Linda Pistecchia Kirkpatrick sold 959 shares of the company'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 transaction of $549,372.74. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 25,540 shares in the company, valued at $14,630,844.40. This represents a 3.62% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, Director Julius Genachowski sold 312 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, July 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $570.67, for a total value of $178,049.04. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 8,469 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,833,004.23. The trade was a 3.55% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 38,753 shares of company stock worth $20,351,084 over the last three months. 0.09% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.