Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) Stock Position Boosted by Walter Public Investments Inc.

Walter Public Investments Inc. raised its stake in shares of Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA - Free Report) by 5.4% in the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 47,254 shares of the credit services provider's stock after buying an additional 2,435 shares during the period. Mastercard comprises about 4.8% of Walter Public Investments Inc.'s portfolio, making the stock its 4th largest holding. Walter Public Investments Inc.'s holdings in Mastercard were worth $25,901,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. Brighton Jones LLC increased its stake in shares of Mastercard by 42.3% in the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 6,824 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $3,594,000 after purchasing an additional 2,028 shares in the last quarter. Bank Pictet & Cie Europe AG increased its stake in shares of Mastercard by 11.8% in the 4th quarter. Bank Pictet & Cie Europe AG now owns 70,472 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $37,108,000 after purchasing an additional 7,452 shares in the last quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC increased its stake in shares of Mastercard by 51.6% in the 4th quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC now owns 2,954 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $1,555,000 after purchasing an additional 1,006 shares in the last quarter. Edgestream Partners L.P. purchased a new position in shares of Mastercard in the 4th quarter valued at about $1,540,000. Finally, Taika Capital LP purchased a new position in Mastercard during the fourth quarter valued at $384,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 97.28% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have issued reports on MA shares. Truist Financial began coverage on shares of Mastercard in a report on Monday, June 2nd. They set a "buy" rating and a $640.00 price objective on the stock. Citigroup boosted their price objective on Mastercard from $650.00 to $652.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, May 5th. Wall Street Zen lowered Mastercard from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Saturday, June 14th. Wolfe Research set a $655.00 price objective on Mastercard in a research note on Monday, June 23rd. Finally, Monness Crespi & Hardt lowered Mastercard from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 9th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-four have assigned a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $611.50.

Mastercard Stock Up 0.1%

Shares of Mastercard stock traded up $0.66 during trading hours on Wednesday, reaching $562.34. 540,937 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,666,712. Mastercard Incorporated has a 1 year low of $428.86 and a 1 year high of $594.71. The stock's fifty day moving average is $567.91 and its 200 day moving average is $547.21. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.81, a quick ratio of 1.11 and a current ratio of 1.11. The firm has a market cap of $512.69 billion, a PE ratio of 39.37, a PEG ratio of 2.46 and a beta of 1.02.

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

Mastercard Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed 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 0.54%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, July 9th. Mastercard's dividend payout ratio is currently 21.32%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Julius Genachowski sold 312 shares of the company's stock in a transaction 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 sale, the director owned 8,469 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $4,833,004.23. This represents a 3.55% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Raj Seshadri sold 1,100 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Friday, June 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $546.77, for a total value 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 position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 38,753 shares of company stock worth $20,351,084 over the last ninety days. 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.