Consolidated Planning Corp Grows Stock Holdings in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA)

Consolidated Planning Corp lifted its holdings in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA - Free Report) by 9.9% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 8,388 shares of the credit services provider's stock after acquiring an additional 756 shares during the period. Consolidated Planning Corp's holdings in Mastercard were worth $4,598,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Norges Bank bought a new stake in Mastercard in the 4th quarter valued at about $6,022,224,000. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its position in Mastercard by 65,631.5% in the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 8,225,637 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $4,508,636,000 after buying an additional 8,213,123 shares in the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new stake in Mastercard in the 4th quarter valued at about $837,017,000. Proficio Capital Partners LLC increased its position in Mastercard by 79,739.7% in the 4th quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC now owns 1,555,277 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $818,962,000 after buying an additional 1,553,329 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Northern Trust Corp increased its position in Mastercard by 15.2% in the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 9,149,181 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $4,817,684,000 after buying an additional 1,207,787 shares in the last quarter. 97.28% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Mastercard news, insider Raj Seshadri sold 949 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Friday, June 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $535.80, for a total transaction of $508,474.20. Following the sale, the insider now owns 14,021 shares in the company, valued at $7,512,451.80. This trade represents a 6.34% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider Sandra A. Arkell sold 150 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $569.45, for a total value of $85,417.50. Following the sale, the insider now owns 3,555 shares in the company, valued at $2,024,394.75. The trade was a 4.05% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 50,890 shares of company stock worth $27,003,492. Corporate insiders own 0.09% of the company's stock.

Mastercard Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:MA traded up $15.34 during trading on Tuesday, hitting $557.69. 4,501,745 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,658,402. The company has a market cap of $508.45 billion, a PE ratio of 39.11, a P/E/G ratio of 2.37 and a beta of 1.05. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $561.13 and a 200 day moving average of $545.00. Mastercard Incorporated has a 52-week low of $428.86 and a 52-week high of $594.71. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.81, a current ratio of 1.11 and a quick 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 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 company had revenue of $7.25 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.12 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $3.31 earnings per share. The firm's revenue was up 14.2% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Mastercard Incorporated will post 15.91 EPS for the current year.

Mastercard Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 8th. Investors of record on Wednesday, July 9th will be given a $0.76 dividend. This represents a $3.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.55%. Mastercard's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 21.32%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

MA has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Macquarie decreased their target price on Mastercard from $645.00 to $610.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, May 2nd. Citigroup boosted their price objective on Mastercard from $650.00 to $652.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, May 5th. Jefferies Financial Group reissued a "buy" rating on shares of Mastercard in a report on Friday, June 6th. Tigress Financial reissued a "strong-buy" rating on shares of Mastercard in a report on Monday, March 10th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group reissued a "buy" rating and set a $633.00 price objective on shares of Mastercard in a report on Wednesday, April 2nd. Seven 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 company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $610.00.

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.