Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) Shares Bought by Private Advisor Group LLC

Private Advisor Group LLC lifted its stake in shares of Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA - Free Report) by 2.1% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 50,156 shares of the credit services provider's stock after acquiring an additional 1,015 shares during the quarter. Private Advisor Group LLC's holdings in Mastercard were worth $27,492,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Measured Risk Portfolios Inc. bought a new position in shares of Mastercard during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Navigoe LLC bought a new position in shares of Mastercard during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $33,000. 10Elms LLP bought a new position in shares of Mastercard during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $33,000. Hughes Financial Services LLC bought a new position in shares of Mastercard during the first quarter valued at approximately $34,000. Finally, Mpwm Advisory Solutions LLC bought a new position in shares of Mastercard during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $36,000. 97.28% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on MA shares. Macquarie lowered their target price on shares of Mastercard from $645.00 to $610.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, May 2nd. Monness Crespi & Hardt downgraded shares of Mastercard from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 9th. 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 target price for the company. UBS Group raised their target price 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. Finally, Wolfe Research set a $655.00 target price on shares of Mastercard in a research note on Monday, June 23rd. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-four have assigned a buy rating and three have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $612.90.

Mastercard Stock Performance

NYSE MA traded down $3.09 on Friday, reaching $552.52. 2,579,579 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,663,399. The firm has a market cap of $503.74 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 38.75, a P/E/G ratio of 2.41 and a beta of 1.02. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $567.30 and a 200-day moving average price of $548.44. Mastercard Incorporated has a fifty-two week low of $428.86 and a fifty-two week high of $594.71. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.81, a quick ratio of 1.11 and a current ratio of 1.11.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, May 1st. The credit services provider reported $3.73 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates 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%. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 14.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $3.31 earnings per share. Equities research analysts predict that Mastercard Incorporated will post 15.91 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Mastercard Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 8th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, July 9th will be paid a dividend of $0.76 per share. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, July 9th. This represents a $3.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.55%. Mastercard's dividend payout ratio is currently 21.32%.

Insider Activity at Mastercard

In other news, insider Raj Seshadri sold 1,100 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated 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. The trade was a 7.85% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, insider Linda Pistecchia Kirkpatrick sold 958 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $560.00, for a total transaction of $536,480.00. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 23,624 shares of the company's stock, valued at $13,229,440. This represents a 3.90% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 38,753 shares of company stock worth $20,351,084 over the last three months. Company insiders own 0.09% of the company's stock.

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.