Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) Shares Acquired by Natural Investments LLC

Key Points

• Natural Investments LLC increased its stake in Mastercard by 13.9% during the first quarter, owning 12,422 shares worth approximately $6.8 million.
• Institutional investors control 97.28% of Mastercard's stock, indicating strong support from large investment firms.
• Mastercard reported a 16.8% year-over-year increase in revenue to $8.13 billion and beat earnings per share estimates by $0.10 in its latest quarterly earnings.

Natural Investments LLC raised its position in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA - Free Report) by 13.9% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 12,422 shares of the credit services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 1,516 shares during the quarter. Mastercard comprises approximately 1.9% of Natural Investments LLC's investment portfolio, making the stock its 8th biggest holding. Natural Investments LLC's holdings in Mastercard were worth $6,808,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Measured Risk Portfolios Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Mastercard during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Navigoe LLC acquired a new position in shares of Mastercard during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $33,000. 10Elms LLP acquired a new position in shares of Mastercard during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $33,000. Hughes Financial Services LLC acquired a new position in shares of Mastercard during the first quarter valued at approximately $34,000. Finally, Mpwm Advisory Solutions LLC acquired a new position in shares of Mastercard during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $36,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 97.28% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

MA has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Mastercard from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, July 18th. Wolfe Research set a $655.00 price objective on shares of Mastercard in a research note on Monday, June 23rd. Seaport Res Ptn upgraded shares of Mastercard from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Monday, July 14th. Royal Bank Of Canada raised their price objective on shares of Mastercard from $650.00 to $656.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, August 1st. Finally, KeyCorp lifted their price target on shares of Mastercard from $635.00 to $660.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, August 1st. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-five have assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $615.33.

Insider Activity at Mastercard

In other Mastercard news, insider Raj Seshadri sold 1,100 shares of Mastercard stock in a transaction on Friday, June 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $546.77, for a total transaction of $601,447.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 12,921 shares of the company's stock, valued at $7,064,815.17. This trade represents a 7.85% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Julius Genachowski sold 312 shares of Mastercard stock in a transaction on 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 of the company's stock, valued at $4,833,004.23. This trade represents a 3.55% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 38,603 shares of company stock worth $20,265,667. Corporate insiders own 0.09% of the company's stock.

Mastercard Trading Up 2.4%

NYSE MA traded up $13.20 on Friday, hitting $574.42. 2,907,568 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,618,541. Mastercard Incorporated has a 52-week low of $453.46 and a 52-week high of $594.71. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.41, a current ratio of 1.16 and a quick ratio of 1.16. The company has a market capitalization of $523.70 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 38.73, a P/E/G ratio of 2.30 and a beta of 1.03. The company's 50-day moving average price is $563.90 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $553.24.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 31st. The credit services provider reported $4.15 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $4.05 by $0.10. The firm had revenue of $8.13 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $7.95 billion. Mastercard had a net margin of 44.93% and a return on equity of 200.01%. The company's quarterly revenue was up 16.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $3.50 EPS. Research analysts predict that Mastercard Incorporated will post 15.91 EPS for the current year.

Mastercard Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 8th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, July 9th will be paid a dividend of $0.76 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, July 9th. This represents a $3.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.5%. Mastercard's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 20.50%.

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.