FCG Investment Co Reduces Position in Mastercard Incorporated $MA

Key Points

• FCG Investment Co reduced its position in Mastercard by 17.3%, now owning 3,636 shares valued at $2.04 million, representing 1.1% of its portfolio.
• Mastercard stock has received a majority of positive ratings, with an average target price of $630.89 from analysts, following recent increases from firms like Wells Fargo and TD Cowen.
• The company recently announced a quarterly dividend of $0.76, with an ex-dividend date set for October 9th, representing a 0.5% annualized dividend yield.

FCG Investment Co lessened its holdings in shares of Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA - Free Report) by 17.3% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 3,636 shares of the credit services provider's stock after selling 763 shares during the period. Mastercard accounts for approximately 1.1% of FCG Investment Co's investment portfolio, making the stock its 22nd biggest position. FCG Investment Co's holdings in Mastercard were worth $2,043,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in Mastercard by 0.5% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 77,544,675 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $42,503,787,000 after purchasing an additional 365,537 shares during the last quarter. Kingstone Capital Partners Texas LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Mastercard in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $11,421,213,000. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD raised its stake in shares of Mastercard by 4.7% in the 1st quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 20,096,979 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $11,015,557,000 after acquiring an additional 907,184 shares during the period. Wellington Management Group LLP raised its stake in shares of Mastercard by 38.6% in the 1st quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 13,526,118 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $7,413,936,000 after acquiring an additional 3,765,378 shares during the period. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC raised its stake in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 8,213,123 shares during the period. 97.28% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group reissued a "buy" rating on shares of Mastercard in a research note on Friday, June 6th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on shares of Mastercard from $625.00 to $650.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, August 1st. TD Cowen reaffirmed a "buy" rating and set a $645.00 target price on shares of Mastercard in a research note on Monday, August 11th. 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. Finally, Wolfe Research set a $655.00 target price on shares of Mastercard in a research note on Monday, June 23rd. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-four have given a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Mastercard has an average rating of "Buy" and an average price target of $630.89.

Mastercard Trading Down 0.3%

Shares of Mastercard stock opened at $567.36 on Friday. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $578.74 and a 200-day simple moving average of $559.77. Mastercard Incorporated has a 12-month low of $465.59 and a 12-month high of $601.77. The company has a current ratio of 1.16, a quick ratio of 1.16 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.41. The stock has a market cap of $512.90 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 38.26, a PEG ratio of 2.33 and a beta of 0.99.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, July 31st. The credit services provider reported $4.15 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $4.05 by $0.10. Mastercard had a net margin of 44.93% and a return on equity of 200.01%. The business had revenue of $8.13 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $7.95 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $3.50 EPS. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 16.8% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts forecast that Mastercard Incorporated will post 15.91 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Mastercard Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 7th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, October 9th will be issued a $0.76 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, October 9th. This represents a $3.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.5%. Mastercard's dividend payout ratio is presently 20.50%.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Julius Genachowski sold 312 shares of the company's 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 completion of the transaction, the director owned 8,469 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,833,004.23. This represents a 3.55% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CFO J. Mehra Sachin sold 17,816 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $586.89, for a total transaction of $10,456,032.24. Following the sale, the chief financial officer owned 31,234 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $18,330,922.26. This represents a 36.32% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 36,349 shares of company stock worth $21,372,994. Corporate insiders own 0.09% of the company's stock.

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.

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