Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. Buys 1,300 Shares of Mastercard Incorporated $MA

Key Points

• Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. increased its stake in Mastercard by 0.5%, acquiring an additional 1,300 shares, bringing their total to 279,161 shares valued at approximately $153 million.
• Insider trades showed significant activity, with Craig Vosburg selling 14,051 shares and CFO J. Mehra Sachin selling 17,816 shares, representing large decreases in their positions.
• Research firms have a largely positive outlook on Mastercard, with a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a target price averaging around $617.93.

Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. grew its stake in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA - Free Report) by 0.5% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 279,161 shares of the credit services provider's stock after acquiring an additional 1,300 shares during the quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co.'s holdings in Mastercard were worth $153,014,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Accredited Investors Inc. increased its stake in shares of Mastercard by 2.6% in the 1st quarter. Accredited Investors Inc. now owns 718 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $394,000 after acquiring an additional 18 shares during the last quarter. Wealthstream Advisors Inc. increased its stake in Mastercard by 2.9% during the 1st quarter. Wealthstream Advisors Inc. now owns 632 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $347,000 after purchasing an additional 18 shares in the last quarter. Phillips Wealth Planners LLC increased its stake in Mastercard by 1.8% during the 1st quarter. Phillips Wealth Planners LLC now owns 1,055 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $538,000 after purchasing an additional 19 shares in the last quarter. Alta Wealth Advisors LLC increased its stake in Mastercard by 3.6% during the 1st quarter. Alta Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 540 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $296,000 after purchasing an additional 19 shares in the last quarter. Finally, May Hill Capital LLC increased its stake in Mastercard by 2.0% during the 1st quarter. May Hill Capital LLC now owns 986 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $540,000 after purchasing an additional 19 shares in the last quarter. 97.28% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Mastercard news, insider Craig Vosburg sold 14,051 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Thursday, June 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $585.05, for a total transaction of $8,220,537.55. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 58,451 shares of the company's stock, valued at $34,196,757.55. This trade represents a 19.38% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CFO J. Mehra Sachin sold 17,816 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $586.89, for a total value of $10,456,032.24. Following the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 31,234 shares of the company's stock, valued at $18,330,922.26. This represents a 36.32% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 56,269 shares of company stock valued at $30,634,699 in the last ninety days. 0.09% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms recently issued reports on MA. Jefferies Financial Group reissued a "buy" rating on shares of Mastercard in a research note on Friday, June 6th. Royal Bank Of Canada raised their price target on shares of Mastercard from $650.00 to $656.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, August 1st. Seaport Res Ptn raised shares of Mastercard from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Monday, July 14th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Mastercard from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, July 18th. Finally, Wolfe Research set a $655.00 price target on shares of Mastercard in a research note on Monday, June 23rd. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-four have issued a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $617.93.

Mastercard Price Performance

NYSE:MA opened at $598.1480 on Friday. Mastercard Incorporated has a 1-year low of $461.90 and a 1-year high of $601.77. The company has a current ratio of 1.16, a quick ratio of 1.16 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.41. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $564.03 and a 200 day simple moving average of $555.73. The stock has a market capitalization of $540.73 billion, a PE ratio of 40.33, a P/E/G ratio of 2.43 and a beta of 1.03.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, July 31st. The credit services provider reported $4.15 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $4.05 by $0.10. Mastercard had a net margin of 44.93% and a return on equity of 200.01%. The business had revenue of $8.13 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $7.95 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $3.50 earnings per share. The firm's revenue was up 16.8% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts expect that Mastercard Incorporated will post 15.91 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Mastercard Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 8th. Investors of record on Wednesday, July 9th were paid a $0.76 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, July 9th. This represents a $3.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.5%. Mastercard's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 20.50%.

Mastercard 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.

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