Ransom Advisory Ltd Takes Position in Mastercard Incorporated $MA

Key Points

• Ransom Advisory Ltd invested approximately $2.01 million in Mastercard, acquiring 3,659 shares, which now represents 1.0% of its investment portfolio.
• Mastercard reported earnings of $4.15 per share and revenue of $8.13 billion for the last quarter, surpassing analysts' expectations.
• Insiders, including Raj Seshadri and Linda Pistecchia Kirkpatrick, have recently sold shares, indicating a decrease in their ownership in the company.

Ransom Advisory Ltd bought a new stake in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA - Free Report) in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund bought 3,659 shares of the credit services provider's stock, valued at approximately $2,006,000. Mastercard comprises approximately 1.0% of Ransom Advisory Ltd's portfolio, making the stock its 25th largest position.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Measured Risk Portfolios Inc. bought a new position in Mastercard during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Keystone Global Partners LLC bought a new position in Mastercard during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $31,000. 10Elms LLP bought a new position in Mastercard during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $33,000. Hughes Financial Services LLC bought a new position in Mastercard during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $34,000. Finally, Mpwm Advisory Solutions LLC bought a new position in Mastercard during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $36,000. Institutional investors own 97.28% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity at Mastercard

In related news, insider Craig Vosburg sold 9,428 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Friday, June 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $353.05, for a total transaction of $3,328,555.40. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 58,451 shares in the company, valued at approximately $20,636,125.55. This represents a 13.89% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, 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 sale, the insider owned 12,921 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $7,064,815.17. This trade represents a 7.85% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 49,094 shares of company stock valued at $26,521,861 in the last 90 days. 0.09% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have commented on MA. KeyCorp upped their price target on Mastercard from $635.00 to $660.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, August 1st. The Goldman Sachs Group reaffirmed a "buy" rating on shares of Mastercard in a research report on Friday, August 1st. TD Cowen reiterated a "buy" rating and set a $645.00 target price on shares of Mastercard in a report on Monday, August 11th. Royal Bank Of Canada upped their target price on Mastercard from $650.00 to $656.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday, August 1st. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft started coverage on Mastercard in a report on Thursday, July 17th. They set a "buy" rating and a $650.00 target price on the stock. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-four have assigned a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $626.54.

Mastercard Stock Down 1.4%

MA stock traded down $7.98 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $580.75. The company's stock had a trading volume of 2,242,737 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,763,323. The company has a market cap of $525.00 billion, a PE ratio of 39.16, a P/E/G ratio of 2.37 and a beta of 0.99. Mastercard Incorporated has a 12 month low of $465.59 and a 12 month 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's 50-day moving average is $574.32 and its 200-day moving average is $558.24.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 31st. The credit services provider reported $4.15 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $4.05 by $0.10. The company had revenue of $8.13 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.95 billion. Mastercard had a return on equity of 200.01% and a net margin of 44.93%.Mastercard's revenue was up 16.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $3.50 earnings per share. On average, equities research 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 was paid on Friday, August 8th. Investors of record on Wednesday, July 9th were given a dividend of $0.76 per share. This represents a $3.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.5%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, July 9th. Mastercard's dividend payout ratio is 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.