Sax Wealth Advisors LLC Increases Stake in Mastercard Incorporated $MA

Key Points

• Sax Wealth Advisors LLC significantly increased its stake in Mastercard, raising its holdings by 121.4% by acquiring 2,263 shares, resulting in a total of 4,127 shares valued at approximately $2.26 million.
• Several analysts have adjusted their ratings and price targets for Mastercard, with Deutsche Bank setting a price objective of $650, while UBS Group boosted its target to $670.
• Mastercard reported earnings per share of $4.15 for the last quarter, surpassing expectations, and declared a quarterly dividend of $0.76 per share with an annual yield of 0.5%.

Sax Wealth Advisors LLC grew its position in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA - Free Report) by 121.4% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 4,127 shares of the credit services provider's stock after acquiring an additional 2,263 shares during the quarter. Sax Wealth Advisors LLC's holdings in Mastercard were worth $2,262,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in MA. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its stake in shares of Mastercard by 65,631.5% in the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 8,225,637 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $4,508,636,000 after acquiring an additional 8,213,123 shares during the period. Nuveen LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Mastercard in the first quarter valued at $4,238,764,000. Wellington Management Group LLP raised its stake in shares of Mastercard by 38.6% in the first quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 13,526,118 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $7,413,936,000 after acquiring an additional 3,765,378 shares during the period. Northern Trust Corp raised its stake in shares of Mastercard by 15.2% in the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 9,149,181 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $4,817,684,000 after acquiring an additional 1,207,787 shares during the period. Finally, Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH purchased a new stake in shares of Mastercard in the fourth quarter valued at $561,313,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 97.28% of the company's stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Raj Seshadri sold 1,100 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated 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 directly owned 12,921 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,064,815.17. This trade represents a 7.85% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CFO J. Mehra Sachin sold 17,816 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $586.89, for a total transaction of $10,456,032.24. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer owned 31,234 shares in the company, valued at $18,330,922.26. This represents a 36.32% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 56,269 shares of company stock worth $30,634,699. Insiders own 0.09% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on MA. Citigroup increased their target price on shares of Mastercard from $650.00 to $652.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, May 5th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft assumed coverage on shares of Mastercard in a report on Thursday, July 17th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $650.00 price target on the stock. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Mastercard from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, July 18th. Truist Financial cut their price target on shares of Mastercard from $640.00 to $612.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, July 17th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group restated a "buy" rating on shares of Mastercard in a report on Friday, August 1st. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-four have assigned a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Mastercard has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $617.93.

Mastercard Stock Up 0.4%

Mastercard stock traded up $2.24 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $592.90. 520,400 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,788,309. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.41, a quick ratio of 1.16 and a current ratio of 1.16. Mastercard Incorporated has a 12 month low of $465.59 and a 12 month high of $601.77. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $566.06 and a two-hundred day moving average of $556.30. The company has a market cap of $535.99 billion, a PE ratio of 40.01, a P/E/G ratio of 2.43 and a beta of 1.03.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, July 31st. The credit services provider reported $4.15 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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 company had revenue of $8.13 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $7.95 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $3.50 EPS. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 16.8% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts expect that Mastercard Incorporated will post 15.91 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Mastercard Announces Dividend

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

About Mastercard

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.