Cove Private Wealth LLC Boosts Stake in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA)

Key Points

• Cove Private Wealth LLC increased its stake in Mastercard by 80.3%, acquiring an additional 2,415 shares, bringing its total to 5,424 shares valued at approximately $2.97 million.
• Analysts have set new price targets for Mastercard, with Morgan Stanley raising its target from $639 to $661 and overall ratings leaning towards a consensus of "Moderate Buy".
• Mastercard recently paid a quarterly dividend of $0.76 per share, reflecting an annualized dividend yield of 0.5%, with a low payout ratio of 20.5%.

Cove Private Wealth LLC raised its stake in shares of Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA - Free Report) by 80.3% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 5,424 shares of the credit services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 2,415 shares during the period. Mastercard accounts for about 1.6% of Cove Private Wealth LLC's portfolio, making the stock its 13th biggest position. Cove Private Wealth LLC's holdings in Mastercard were worth $2,973,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in MA. Accredited Investors Inc. raised its stake in shares of Mastercard by 2.6% in the 1st quarter. Accredited Investors Inc. now owns 718 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $394,000 after acquiring an additional 18 shares during the period. Wealthstream Advisors Inc. raised its stake in shares of Mastercard by 2.9% in the 1st quarter. Wealthstream Advisors Inc. now owns 632 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $347,000 after acquiring an additional 18 shares during the period. Phillips Wealth Planners LLC raised its stake in shares of Mastercard by 1.8% in the 1st quarter. Phillips Wealth Planners LLC now owns 1,055 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $538,000 after acquiring an additional 19 shares during the period. Alta Wealth Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Mastercard by 3.6% in the 1st quarter. Alta Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 540 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $296,000 after acquiring an additional 19 shares during the period. Finally, May Hill Capital LLC raised its stake in shares of Mastercard by 2.0% in the 1st quarter. May Hill Capital LLC now owns 986 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $540,000 after acquiring an additional 19 shares during the period. 97.28% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Mastercard

In other news, insider Raj Seshadri sold 1,100 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, June 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $546.77, for a total transaction of $601,447.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 12,921 shares in the company, valued at $7,064,815.17. This represents a 7.85% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, Director Julius Genachowski sold 312 shares of the company's 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 sale, the director owned 8,469 shares of the company's stock, valued at $4,833,004.23. This trade represents a 3.55% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 38,453 shares of company stock valued at $20,178,667. 0.09% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Mastercard Stock Performance

MA traded up $0.29 on Tuesday, reaching $573.88. The company had a trading volume of 2,593,766 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,583,637. The company has a quick ratio of 1.16, a current ratio of 1.16 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.41. The stock has a market capitalization of $518.80 billion, a PE ratio of 38.70, a P/E/G ratio of 2.36 and a beta of 1.03. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $563.59 and a 200-day moving average price of $553.98. Mastercard Incorporated has a 1 year low of $454.89 and a 1 year high of $594.71.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, July 31st. The credit services provider reported $4.15 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $4.05 by $0.10. The business had revenue of $8.13 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.95 billion. Mastercard had a net margin of 44.93% and a return on equity of 200.01%. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 16.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm posted $3.50 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts forecast that Mastercard Incorporated will post 15.91 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Mastercard Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 8th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, July 9th were given a dividend of $0.76 per share. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, July 9th. This represents a $3.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.5%. Mastercard's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 20.50%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on MA shares. Wolfe Research set a $655.00 price target on shares of Mastercard in a research note on Monday, June 23rd. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Mastercard from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, July 18th. Truist Financial cut their target price on shares of Mastercard from $640.00 to $612.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, July 17th. Citigroup upped their target price on shares of Mastercard from $650.00 to $652.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, May 5th. Finally, Macquarie cut their target price 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. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-five have given a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $615.33.

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.