PFG Advisors Acquires 604 Shares of Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA)

PFG Advisors boosted its holdings in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA - Free Report) by 18.9% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 3,798 shares of the credit services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 604 shares during the quarter. PFG Advisors' holdings in Mastercard were worth $2,082,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the business. Brighton Jones LLC increased its stake in Mastercard by 42.3% during 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 Mastercard by 11.8% during 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. Mascagni Wealth Management Inc. bought a new stake in Mastercard during the 4th quarter valued at about $73,000. Trustco Bank Corp N Y bought a new stake in Mastercard during the 4th quarter valued at about $211,000. Finally, Fox Run Management L.L.C. bought a new stake in Mastercard during the 4th quarter valued at about $519,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 97.28% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have weighed in on MA shares. UBS Group raised their price objective on shares of Mastercard from $660.00 to $670.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 3rd. The Goldman Sachs Group restated a "buy" rating and set a $633.00 target price on shares of Mastercard in a research note on Wednesday, April 2nd. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft started coverage on shares of Mastercard in a research note on Thursday, July 17th. They set a "buy" rating and a $650.00 target price on the stock. Evercore ISI started coverage on shares of Mastercard in a research note on Wednesday, April 9th. They issued an "in-line" rating and a $550.00 price target for the company. Finally, Truist Financial reduced their price target on shares of Mastercard from $640.00 to $612.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, July 17th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-five have given a buy rating and three have given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $612.90.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Raj Seshadri sold 1,100 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Friday, June 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $546.77, for a total value of $601,447.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 12,921 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $7,064,815.17. This represents a 7.85% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider Linda Pistecchia Kirkpatrick sold 959 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on 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 $14,630,844.40. This represents a 3.62% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 38,753 shares of company stock worth $20,351,084. 0.09% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Mastercard Price Performance

Mastercard stock traded up $4.68 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $568.18. The stock had a trading volume of 1,513,080 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,575,199. The firm has a market capitalization of $518.02 billion, a P/E ratio of 39.84, a P/E/G ratio of 2.46 and a beta of 1.02. The company has a current ratio of 1.11, a quick ratio of 1.11 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.81. The firm's 50 day moving average is $565.61 and its 200 day moving average is $550.15. Mastercard Incorporated has a one year low of $432.11 and a one year high of $594.71.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, May 1st. The credit services provider reported $3.73 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.57 by $0.16. The company had revenue of $7.25 billion during 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%. Mastercard's quarterly revenue was up 14.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $3.31 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Mastercard Incorporated will post 15.91 earnings per share for the current fiscal 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 issued a $0.76 dividend. This represents a $3.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.54%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, July 9th. Mastercard's dividend payout ratio is currently 21.32%.

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.