Mastercard Incorporated $MA Shares Bought by Welch Group LLC

Key Points

• Welch Group LLC increased its holdings in Mastercard by 3.4%, owning a total of 15,507 shares valued at approximately $8.71 million by the end of the recent quarter.
• Mastercard's recent quarterly earnings surpassed expectations, reporting $4.15 EPS and $8.13 billion in revenue, reflecting a 16.8% year-over-year growth.
• The company recently declared a quarterly dividend of $0.76 per share, with an annualized yield of 0.5%, scheduled to be paid on November 7th.

Welch Group LLC raised its holdings in shares of Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA - Free Report) by 3.4% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 15,507 shares of the credit services provider's stock after acquiring an additional 505 shares during the period. Welch Group LLC's holdings in Mastercard were worth $8,714,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the business. Family Legacy Financial Solutions LLC purchased a new position in shares of Mastercard during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Flaharty Asset Management LLC acquired a new stake in Mastercard during the 1st quarter worth $27,000. Keystone Global Partners LLC acquired a new stake in Mastercard during the 1st quarter worth $31,000. Hughes Financial Services LLC acquired a new position in shares of Mastercard during the 1st quarter valued at about $34,000. Finally, 1 North Wealth Services LLC acquired a new position in shares of Mastercard during the 1st quarter valued at about $44,000. 97.28% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have commented on MA. Robert W. Baird upped their target price on shares of Mastercard from $640.00 to $660.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Monday, October 6th. Morgan Stanley increased their price target on shares of Mastercard from $639.00 to $661.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, August 1st. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Mastercard from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, September 26th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft began coverage on Mastercard in a report on Thursday, July 17th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $650.00 price objective for the company. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group reaffirmed a "buy" rating on shares of Mastercard in a report on Friday, August 1st. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-five have given a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Mastercard currently has an average rating of "Buy" and an average target price of $634.04.

Mastercard Stock Down 1.4%

MA stock opened at $556.80 on Monday. The firm has a market cap of $503.35 billion, a PE ratio of 37.55, a P/E/G ratio of 2.28 and a beta of 0.97. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.41, a current ratio of 1.16 and a quick ratio of 1.16. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $581.01 and a 200 day simple moving average of $562.90. Mastercard Incorporated has a 12 month low of $465.59 and a 12 month high of $601.77.

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

Mastercard Dividend Announcement

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

Insider Transactions at Mastercard

In other Mastercard news, CFO J. Mehra Sachin sold 17,263 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, September 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $591.00, for a total value of $10,202,433.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer owned 31,234 shares of the company's stock, valued at $18,459,294. This trade represents a 35.60% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. 0.09% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.

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