Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) Position Boosted by Larson Financial Group LLC

Larson Financial Group LLC grew its stake in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA - Free Report) by 82.4% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 4,086 shares of the credit services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 1,846 shares during the quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC's holdings in Mastercard were worth $2,240,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of MA. Measured Risk Portfolios Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Mastercard in the 4th quarter valued at about $31,000. Navigoe LLC bought a new position in Mastercard in the fourth quarter worth about $33,000. 10Elms LLP acquired a new position in Mastercard in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $33,000. Hughes Financial Services LLC acquired a new position in Mastercard in the first quarter valued at approximately $34,000. Finally, Mpwm Advisory Solutions LLC bought a new position in shares of Mastercard during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $36,000. 97.28% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts recently issued reports on the company. Evercore ISI started coverage on Mastercard in a report on Wednesday, April 9th. They issued an "in-line" rating and a $550.00 price target on the stock. Wolfe Research set a $655.00 target price on Mastercard in a research report on Monday, June 23rd. Macquarie reduced their price target on shares of Mastercard from $645.00 to $610.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Friday, May 2nd. Monness Crespi & Hardt lowered shares of Mastercard from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 9th. Finally, KeyCorp lifted their price objective on shares of Mastercard from $630.00 to $635.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, May 2nd. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-four have assigned a buy rating and three have assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $612.90.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Mastercard news, insider Linda Pistecchia Kirkpatrick sold 958 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $560.00, for a total value of $536,480.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 23,624 shares in the company, valued at $13,229,440. This trade represents a 3.90% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, Director Julius Genachowski sold 312 shares of Mastercard stock in a transaction that occurred 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 approximately $4,833,004.23. This trade represents a 3.55% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 38,753 shares of company stock valued at $20,351,084. 0.09% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Mastercard Price Performance

Shares of NYSE MA traded up $1.36 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $556.88. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,367,552 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,848,604. Mastercard Incorporated has a one year low of $428.86 and a one year high of $594.71. The company has a market cap of $507.72 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 39.05, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.39 and a beta of 1.02. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $567.85 and a 200 day moving average price of $548.05. The company has a current ratio of 1.11, a quick ratio of 1.11 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.81.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 1st. The credit services provider reported $3.73 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.57 by $0.16. Mastercard had a return on equity of 196.87% and a net margin of 45.21%. The company had revenue of $7.25 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $7.12 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $3.31 earnings per share. The firm's revenue was up 14.2% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts expect that Mastercard Incorporated will post 15.91 EPS for the current year.

Mastercard Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 8th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, July 9th will be given a dividend of $0.76 per share. This represents a $3.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.55%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, July 9th. Mastercard's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 21.32%.

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.