Liberty Wealth Management LLC Boosts Stock Position in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA)

Key Points

• Liberty Wealth Management LLC significantly increased its stake in Mastercard by 7,056.6%, owning 67,630 shares valued at approximately $37 million by the end of the first quarter.
• Mastercard's quarterly earnings report indicated an EPS of $4.15, surpassing estimates and marking a 16.8% revenue increase year-over-year.
• Several analysts have maintained a positive outlook on Mastercard, with twenty-five analysts issuing a buy rating and an average price target of $615.33.

Liberty Wealth Management LLC raised its position in shares of Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA - Free Report) by 7,056.6% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 67,630 shares of the credit services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 66,685 shares during the quarter. Liberty Wealth Management LLC's holdings in Mastercard were worth $37,069,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. J. Safra Sarasin Holding AG raised its holdings in Mastercard by 19.7% in the 1st quarter. J. Safra Sarasin Holding AG now owns 199,188 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $109,175,000 after purchasing an additional 32,778 shares during the period. Bank of Nova Scotia raised its holdings in Mastercard by 133.6% in the 1st quarter. Bank of Nova Scotia now owns 419,363 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $229,851,000 after purchasing an additional 239,853 shares during the period. New Jersey Better Educational Savings Trust acquired a new position in Mastercard in the 1st quarter worth about $207,000. Aviso Wealth Management raised its holdings in Mastercard by 9.2% in the 1st quarter. Aviso Wealth Management now owns 3,215 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $1,762,000 after purchasing an additional 271 shares during the period. Finally, Jupiter Asset Management Ltd. raised its holdings in Mastercard by 1.9% in the 1st quarter. Jupiter Asset Management Ltd. now owns 146,151 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $80,108,000 after purchasing an additional 2,689 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 97.28% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity at Mastercard

In other news, Director Julius Genachowski sold 312 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Monday, July 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $570.67, for a total transaction of $178,049.04. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 8,469 shares in the company, valued at $4,833,004.23. This trade represents a 3.55% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Raj Seshadri sold 1,100 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Friday, June 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $546.77, for a total value of $601,447.00. Following the transaction, the insider owned 12,921 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $7,064,815.17. This represents a 7.85% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 38,753 shares of company stock valued at $20,351,084 in the last ninety days. Insiders own 0.09% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

MA has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Jefferies Financial Group reaffirmed a "buy" rating on shares of Mastercard in a report on Friday, June 6th. Citigroup upped their price target on Mastercard from $650.00 to $652.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, May 5th. KeyCorp upped their price target on Mastercard from $635.00 to $660.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday. Truist Financial reduced their price target on Mastercard from $640.00 to $612.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, July 17th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on Mastercard from $625.00 to $650.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-five have issued a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Mastercard has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $615.33.

Mastercard Trading Down 1.2%

Shares of Mastercard stock opened at $559.73 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $510.31 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 37.74, a PEG ratio of 2.43 and a beta of 1.03. Mastercard Incorporated has a fifty-two week low of $439.59 and a fifty-two week high of $594.71. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.41, a quick ratio of 1.11 and a current ratio of 1.16. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $564.58 and a 200 day moving average of $551.95.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 31st. The credit services provider reported $4.15 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $4.05 by $0.10. Mastercard had a return on equity of 200.01% and a net margin of 44.93%. The business 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 company posted $3.50 EPS. The company's quarterly revenue was up 16.8% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts predict that Mastercard Incorporated will post 15.91 earnings per share for the current year.

Mastercard Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 8th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, July 9th will be given a dividend of $0.76 per share. The ex-dividend date is 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 currently 21.32%.

About Mastercard

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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