Calton & Associates Inc. Purchases Shares of 2,126 Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA)

Calton & Associates Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA - Free Report) during the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund acquired 2,126 shares of the credit services provider's stock, valued at approximately $1,165,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. Measured Risk Portfolios Inc. purchased a new position in Mastercard during the 4th quarter valued at about $31,000. Navigoe LLC purchased a new position in Mastercard during the 4th quarter valued at about $33,000. 10Elms LLP purchased a new position in Mastercard during the 4th quarter valued at about $33,000. Hughes Financial Services LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Mastercard during the 1st quarter valued at about $34,000. Finally, Mpwm Advisory Solutions LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Mastercard during the 4th quarter valued at about $36,000. 97.28% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Craig Vosburg sold 9,428 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, June 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $353.05, for a total transaction of $3,328,555.40. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 58,451 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $20,636,125.55. This trade represents a 13.89% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Julius Genachowski sold 312 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, July 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $570.67, for a total value of $178,049.04. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 8,469 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $4,833,004.23. This trade represents a 3.55% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 38,753 shares of company stock valued at $20,351,084. 0.09% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Mastercard Stock Performance

MA traded down $3.09 during trading on Friday, hitting $552.52. The stock had a trading volume of 2,579,579 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,665,575. The firm has a market cap of $503.74 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 38.75, a P/E/G ratio of 2.39 and a beta of 1.02. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.81, a current ratio of 1.11 and a quick ratio of 1.11. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $567.30 and a 200-day moving average price of $548.59. Mastercard Incorporated has a one year low of $428.86 and a one year high of $594.71.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results 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 during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $7.12 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $3.31 EPS. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 14.2% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts predict that Mastercard Incorporated will post 15.91 EPS for the current year.

Mastercard Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 8th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, July 9th will be issued a $0.76 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, July 9th. This represents a $3.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.55%. Mastercard's payout ratio is currently 21.32%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have recently commented on MA. KeyCorp upped their price target on Mastercard from $630.00 to $635.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, May 2nd. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft initiated coverage on Mastercard in a research report on Thursday. They set a "buy" rating and a $650.00 price objective on the stock. Truist Financial lowered their price objective on Mastercard from $640.00 to $612.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday. Wolfe Research set a $655.00 price objective on Mastercard in a research report on Monday, June 23rd. Finally, Macquarie lowered their price target on Mastercard from $645.00 to $610.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, May 2nd. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-five have given a buy rating and three have given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $612.90.

Mastercard 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.