496 Shares in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) Acquired by Benchmark Financial Wealth Advisors LLC

Benchmark Financial Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA - Free Report) in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm acquired 496 shares of the credit services provider's stock, valued at approximately $272,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. NewSquare Capital LLC purchased a new position in Mastercard in the 4th quarter worth approximately $26,000. Measured Risk Portfolios Inc. purchased a new position in Mastercard in the fourth quarter worth $31,000. Halbert Hargrove Global Advisors LLC bought a new position in Mastercard in the fourth quarter valued at $32,000. Navigoe LLC purchased a new stake in Mastercard during the fourth quarter valued at about $33,000. Finally, 10Elms LLP purchased a new stake in Mastercard during the fourth quarter valued at about $33,000. 97.28% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Craig Vosburg sold 9,428 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 transaction, the insider owned 58,451 shares in the company, valued at $20,636,125.55. This trade represents a 13.89% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider Sandra A. Arkell sold 150 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Monday, May 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $580.00, for a total value of $87,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 3,255 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,887,900. The trade was a 4.41% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 38,441 shares of company stock valued at $20,173,035 over the last ninety days. 0.09% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

MA has been the subject of a number of research reports. KeyCorp upped their price objective on Mastercard from $630.00 to $635.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, May 2nd. Wolfe Research set a $655.00 target price on Mastercard in a research note on Monday, June 23rd. UBS Group increased their price target on shares of Mastercard from $660.00 to $670.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, June 3rd. The Goldman Sachs Group restated a "buy" rating and issued a $633.00 price objective on shares of Mastercard in a report on Wednesday, April 2nd. Finally, Tigress Financial reaffirmed a "strong-buy" rating on shares of Mastercard in a report on Monday, March 10th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-four have issued a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Mastercard currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $611.50.

Mastercard Trading Up 0.9%

MA stock traded up $5.01 on Friday, reaching $566.53. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,528,739 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,668,807. The firm has a market cap of $516.51 billion, a PE ratio of 39.73, a PEG ratio of 2.47 and a beta of 1.02. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $566.17 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $546.25. Mastercard Incorporated has a 12-month low of $428.86 and a 12-month high of $594.71. 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 data on Thursday, May 1st. The credit services provider reported $3.73 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.57 by $0.16. Mastercard had a net margin of 45.21% and a return on equity of 196.87%. The business had revenue of $7.25 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.12 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $3.31 EPS. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 14.2% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts forecast that Mastercard Incorporated will post 15.91 EPS for the current year.

Mastercard Dividend Announcement

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

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.