Passive Capital Management LLC. Acquires 773 Shares of Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA)

Key Points

• Passive Capital Management LLC increased its stake in Mastercard by 165.2% during Q1, holding a total of 1,241 shares valued at approximately $680,000.
• Multiple large investors modified their holdings in Mastercard, with notable increases including GAMMA Investing LLC's staggering 65,631.5% increase in shares during Q1.
• Mastercard recently announced a $0.76 quarterly dividend to be paid on August 8th, representing an annualized yield of 0.54% and a payout ratio of 21.32%.

Passive Capital Management LLC. boosted its stake in shares of Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA - Free Report) by 165.2% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,241 shares of the credit services provider's stock after acquiring an additional 773 shares during the quarter. Passive Capital Management LLC.'s holdings in Mastercard were worth $680,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Measured Risk Portfolios Inc. bought a new position in shares of Mastercard in the 4th quarter valued at about $31,000. Navigoe LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Mastercard in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $33,000. 10Elms LLP acquired a new stake in shares of Mastercard in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $33,000. Hughes Financial Services LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Mastercard in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $34,000. Finally, Mpwm Advisory Solutions LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Mastercard in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $36,000. Institutional investors own 97.28% of the company's stock.

Mastercard Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:MA traded up $15.48 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $574.59. The company had a trading volume of 2,001,359 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,811,570. The stock has a market cap of $523.86 billion, a P/E ratio of 40.29, a P/E/G ratio of 2.44 and a beta of 1.02. Mastercard Incorporated has a 52-week low of $439.59 and a 52-week high of $594.71. The company has a current ratio of 1.11, a quick ratio of 1.11 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.81. The company's 50 day moving average price is $564.74 and its 200 day moving average price is $550.97.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data 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 net margin of 45.21% and a return on equity of 196.87%. The business's revenue was up 16.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $3.50 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Mastercard Incorporated will post 15.91 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Mastercard Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared 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 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.53%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, July 9th. Mastercard's dividend payout ratio is presently 21.32%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

MA has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Macquarie cut their price target on shares of Mastercard from $645.00 to $610.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, May 2nd. The Goldman Sachs Group reiterated a "buy" rating and issued a $633.00 price target on shares of Mastercard in a research report on Wednesday, April 2nd. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft initiated coverage on shares of Mastercard in a research report on Thursday, July 17th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $650.00 price target on the stock. UBS Group increased their price target on shares of Mastercard from $660.00 to $670.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, June 3rd. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group restated a "buy" rating on shares of Mastercard in a report on Friday, June 6th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-five have assigned a buy rating and three have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $612.90.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, insider Raj Seshadri sold 1,100 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Friday, June 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $546.77, for a total transaction of $601,447.00. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 12,921 shares in the company, valued at $7,064,815.17. This represents a 7.85% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, insider Craig Vosburg sold 9,428 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Friday, June 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $353.05, for a total value of $3,328,555.40. Following the sale, the insider owned 58,451 shares in the company, valued at approximately $20,636,125.55. This represents a 13.89% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 38,753 shares of company stock valued at $20,351,084. Corporate 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.