Kornitzer Capital Management Inc. KS Buys 612 Shares of Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA)

Kornitzer Capital Management Inc. KS grew its stake in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA - Free Report) by 2.8% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 22,640 shares of the credit services provider's stock after buying an additional 612 shares during the quarter. Kornitzer Capital Management Inc. KS's holdings in Mastercard were worth $12,409,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in Mastercard in the fourth quarter valued at $6,022,224,000. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its stake in Mastercard by 65,631.5% in the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 8,225,637 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $4,508,636,000 after acquiring an additional 8,213,123 shares during the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp lifted its stake in Mastercard by 15.2% in the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 9,149,181 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $4,817,684,000 after acquiring an additional 1,207,787 shares during the last quarter. Sanders Capital LLC acquired a new stake in Mastercard in the fourth quarter valued at $617,303,000. Finally, Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH acquired a new stake in Mastercard in the fourth quarter valued at $561,313,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 97.28% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity at Mastercard

In other Mastercard news, insider Linda Pistecchia Kirkpatrick sold 959 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Friday, June 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $572.86, for a total transaction of $549,372.74. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 25,540 shares of the company's stock, valued at $14,630,844.40. This represents a 3.62% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, Director Julius Genachowski sold 312 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $570.67, for a total transaction of $178,049.04. Following the sale, 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. Insiders sold a total of 38,753 shares of company stock valued at $20,351,084 over the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 0.09% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

MA has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Macquarie lowered 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. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft initiated coverage on shares of Mastercard in a research report on Thursday. They set a "buy" rating and a $650.00 price target on the stock. Royal Bank Of Canada reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and set a $650.00 price target on shares of Mastercard in a research report on Tuesday. UBS Group raised their price target on shares of Mastercard from $660.00 to $670.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, June 3rd. Finally, Wolfe Research set a $655.00 target price on shares of Mastercard in a report on Monday, June 23rd. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-four have issued a buy rating and three have issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $612.90.

Mastercard Stock Up 0.0%

MA stock traded up $0.21 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $555.73. 2,721,925 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,667,469. The company has a market cap of $506.66 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 38.97, a P/E/G ratio of 2.39 and a beta of 1.02. The firm's fifty day moving average price is $567.85 and its 200-day moving average price is $548.05. The company has a quick ratio of 1.11, a current ratio of 1.11 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.81. Mastercard Incorporated has a 52 week low of $428.86 and a 52 week high of $594.71.

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 (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $3.57 by $0.16. The firm had revenue of $7.25 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.12 billion. Mastercard had a net margin of 45.21% and a return on equity of 196.87%. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 14.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $3.31 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Mastercard Incorporated will post 15.91 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Mastercard Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 8th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, July 9th will be issued a dividend of $0.76 per share. This represents a $3.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.55%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, July 9th. Mastercard's dividend payout ratio is 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.