Apollon Wealth Management LLC Increases Stock Position in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA)

Apollon Wealth Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA - Free Report) by 37.3% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 44,614 shares of the credit services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 12,110 shares during the period. Apollon Wealth Management LLC's holdings in Mastercard were worth $24,454,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have weighed in on MA. Citigroup lifted their target price on Mastercard from $650.00 to $652.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, May 5th. The Goldman Sachs Group reaffirmed a "buy" rating and issued a $633.00 price target on shares of Mastercard in a research report on Wednesday, April 2nd. Wolfe Research set a $655.00 price target on shares of Mastercard in a research note on Monday, June 23rd. Wall Street Zen lowered Mastercard from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday, June 14th. Finally, Monness Crespi & Hardt downgraded Mastercard from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 9th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-four have given a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $611.50.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Linda Pistecchia Kirkpatrick sold 959 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Friday, June 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $572.86, for a total transaction of $549,372.74. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 25,540 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $14,630,844.40. This represents a 3.62% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider Craig Vosburg sold 14,051 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, June 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $585.05, for a total value of $8,220,537.55. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 58,451 shares in the company, valued at $34,196,757.55. This trade represents a 19.38% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 38,753 shares of company stock worth $20,351,084 over the last three months. Insiders own 0.09% of the company's stock.

Mastercard Trading Up 0.5%

NYSE MA traded up $2.94 on Monday, reaching $553.12. 2,500,788 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,864,759. Mastercard Incorporated has a fifty-two week low of $428.86 and a fifty-two week high of $594.71. The stock has a market capitalization of $504.28 billion, a P/E ratio of 38.79, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.39 and a beta of 1.02. The business's fifty day moving average price is $568.42 and its 200 day moving average price is $547.84. 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 earnings results on Thursday, May 1st. The credit services provider reported $3.73 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $3.57 by $0.16. The company had revenue of $7.25 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $7.12 billion. Mastercard had a net margin of 45.21% and a return on equity of 196.87%. Mastercard's revenue for the quarter was up 14.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $3.31 earnings per share. Analysts forecast that Mastercard Incorporated will post 15.91 earnings per share for the current year.

Mastercard Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 8th. Investors of record on Wednesday, July 9th will be paid 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 0.55%. Mastercard's payout ratio is 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.