Mastercard Incorporated $MA is Foster Victor Wealth Advisors LLC's 6th Largest Position

Key Points

• Foster Victor Wealth Advisors LLC has increased its stake in Mastercard Incorporated by 1.9%, making it the 6th largest position in their investment portfolio, valued at approximately $28 million.
• Mastercard recently declared a quarterly dividend of $0.76 per share, scheduled for payment on November 7th, representing an annualized dividend yield of 0.5%.
• Analysts have a consensus Buy rating for Mastercard, with a target price increase from $650 to $656, indicating positive expectations for the stock's performance.

Foster Victor Wealth Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA - Free Report) by 1.9% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 49,586 shares of the credit services provider's stock after buying an additional 941 shares during the period. Mastercard comprises approximately 1.9% of Foster Victor Wealth Advisors LLC's investment portfolio, making the stock its 6th biggest position. Foster Victor Wealth Advisors LLC's holdings in Mastercard were worth $28,021,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Accredited Investors Inc. boosted its holdings in Mastercard by 2.6% during 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. boosted its stake in shares of Mastercard by 2.9% during the first quarter. Wealthstream Advisors Inc. now owns 632 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $347,000 after purchasing an additional 18 shares during the period. Phillips Wealth Planners LLC grew its holdings in shares of Mastercard by 1.8% in the first quarter. Phillips Wealth Planners LLC now owns 1,055 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $538,000 after purchasing an additional 19 shares during the last quarter. Alta Wealth Advisors LLC increased its stake in Mastercard by 3.6% in the 1st quarter. Alta Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 540 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $296,000 after buying an additional 19 shares during the period. Finally, May Hill Capital LLC lifted its holdings in Mastercard by 2.0% during the 1st quarter. May Hill Capital LLC now owns 986 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $540,000 after buying an additional 19 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 97.28% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on MA shares. Royal Bank Of Canada raised their target price on shares of Mastercard from $650.00 to $656.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Friday, August 1st. Wolfe Research set a $655.00 price objective on Mastercard in a report on Monday, June 23rd. Wall Street Zen upgraded Mastercard from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, July 18th. Jefferies Financial Group reissued a "buy" rating on shares of Mastercard in a research report on Friday, June 6th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft initiated coverage on Mastercard in a report on Thursday, July 17th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $650.00 price objective for the company. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-four have assigned a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Buy" and an average price target of $630.89.

Mastercard Stock Down 2.6%

MA stock opened at $569.51 on Wednesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $514.84 billion, a PE ratio of 38.40, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.40 and a beta of 0.99. Mastercard Incorporated has a 52 week low of $465.59 and a 52 week high of $601.77. 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 firm has a 50 day moving average of $578.24 and a 200 day moving average of $559.49.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly 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 during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $7.95 billion. Mastercard had a net margin of 44.93% and a return on equity of 200.01%. The business's quarterly revenue was up 16.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $3.50 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts forecast that Mastercard Incorporated will post 15.91 earnings per share for the current year.

Mastercard Dividend Announcement

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

Insider Transactions at Mastercard

In other news, Director Julius Genachowski sold 312 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $570.67, for a total value 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 sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Linda Pistecchia Kirkpatrick sold 958 shares of Mastercard stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $560.00, for a total value of $536,480.00. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 23,624 shares of the company's stock, valued at $13,229,440. This trade represents a 3.90% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 37,449 shares of company stock valued at $21,974,441 over the last three months. Company insiders own 0.09% of the company's stock.

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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