Ground Swell Capital LLC Invests $422,000 in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA)

Key Points

• Ground Swell Capital LLC acquired 769 shares of Mastercard valued at approximately $422,000, making it the 29th largest holding in their investment portfolio.
• Major hedge funds have also increased their stakes in Mastercard, with Vanguard Group owning over $42 billion in shares after raising their stake by 0.5%.
• Wall Street analysts have a positive outlook on Mastercard, with an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a target price of $615.33.

Ground Swell Capital LLC bought a new stake in shares of Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA - Free Report) during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund bought 769 shares of the credit services provider's stock, valued at approximately $422,000. Mastercard comprises about 0.9% of Ground Swell Capital LLC's holdings, making the stock its 29th largest position.

Several other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of MA. Measured Risk Portfolios Inc. purchased a new stake in Mastercard during the 4th quarter valued at about $31,000. Navigoe LLC purchased a new position in shares of Mastercard in the 4th quarter worth $33,000. 10Elms LLP purchased a new position in Mastercard during the fourth quarter valued at $33,000. Hughes Financial Services LLC bought a new stake in Mastercard during the first quarter valued at about $34,000. Finally, Mpwm Advisory Solutions LLC bought a new stake in shares of Mastercard in the fourth quarter worth about $36,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 97.28% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Mastercard

In other news, insider Linda Pistecchia Kirkpatrick sold 959 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Friday, June 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $572.86, for a total transaction of $549,372.74. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 25,540 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $14,630,844.40. This trade represents a 3.62% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider Craig Vosburg sold 14,051 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, June 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $585.05, for a total transaction of $8,220,537.55. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 58,451 shares of the company's stock, valued at $34,196,757.55. The trade was a 19.38% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 38,453 shares of company stock valued at $20,178,667 over the last quarter. 0.09% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

MA has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Royal Bank Of Canada boosted their target price on Mastercard from $650.00 to $656.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Friday, August 1st. Citigroup boosted their price objective 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. Seaport Res Ptn raised shares of Mastercard from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Monday, July 14th. Truist Financial reduced their price objective on shares of Mastercard from $640.00 to $612.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, July 17th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group reissued a "buy" rating on shares of Mastercard in a research note on Friday, June 6th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-five have issued a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Mastercard currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $617.93.

Mastercard Price Performance

MA stock traded down $1.70 on Friday, hitting $582.06. 2,263,560 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,583,317. Mastercard Incorporated has a 1-year low of $461.90 and a 1-year high of $594.71. The stock has a market cap of $526.19 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 39.25, a P/E/G ratio of 2.39 and a beta of 1.03. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $563.30 and a 200-day moving average of $554.68. The company has a current ratio of 1.16, a quick ratio of 1.16 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.41.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 31st. The credit services provider reported $4.15 earnings per share 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 firm had revenue of $8.13 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.95 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $3.50 EPS. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 16.8% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts forecast that Mastercard Incorporated will post 15.91 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Mastercard Announces Dividend

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

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.