Stephens Inc. AR Has $49.63 Million Holdings in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA)

Stephens Inc. AR lifted its position in shares of Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA - Free Report) by 0.7% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 90,543 shares of the credit services provider's stock after acquiring an additional 656 shares during the quarter. Mastercard accounts for about 0.7% of Stephens Inc. AR's holdings, making the stock its 20th biggest position. Stephens Inc. AR's holdings in Mastercard were worth $49,628,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of MA. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Mastercard during the 4th quarter worth approximately $6,022,224,000. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its position in shares of Mastercard by 65,631.5% during the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 8,225,637 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $4,508,636,000 after purchasing an additional 8,213,123 shares during the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp raised its position in shares of Mastercard by 15.2% during the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 9,149,181 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $4,817,684,000 after purchasing an additional 1,207,787 shares during the last quarter. Sanders Capital LLC acquired a new position in shares of Mastercard during the 4th quarter worth approximately $617,303,000. Finally, Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH acquired a new position in shares of Mastercard during the 4th quarter worth approximately $561,313,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 97.28% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

MA has been the subject of several research reports. Wall Street Zen downgraded Mastercard from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Saturday, June 14th. UBS Group lifted their price objective on Mastercard from $660.00 to $670.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, June 3rd. Wolfe Research set a $655.00 price objective on Mastercard in a research report on Monday, June 23rd. The Goldman Sachs Group reiterated a "buy" rating and issued a $633.00 price target on shares of Mastercard in a report on Wednesday, April 2nd. Finally, Citigroup boosted their price target on Mastercard from $650.00 to $652.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, May 5th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-four have assigned a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Mastercard presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $611.50.

Mastercard Stock Down 2.4%

NYSE:MA traded down $13.48 on Friday, hitting $550.04. 3,221,317 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,666,716. The company has a current ratio of 1.11, a quick ratio of 1.11 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.81. Mastercard Incorporated has a 1 year low of $428.86 and a 1 year high of $594.71. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $568.42 and a 200-day moving average price of $547.76. The company has a market cap of $501.48 billion, a PE ratio of 38.57, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.39 and a beta of 1.02.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, May 1st. The credit services provider reported $3.73 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.57 by $0.16. The company had revenue of $7.25 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $7.12 billion. Mastercard had a return on equity of 196.87% and a net margin of 45.21%. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 14.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $3.31 EPS. Equities analysts anticipate that Mastercard Incorporated will post 15.91 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Mastercard Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 8th. Investors of record on Wednesday, July 9th will be paid a $0.76 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, July 9th. This represents a $3.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.55%. Mastercard's payout ratio is 21.32%.

Insider Transactions at Mastercard

In other Mastercard news, insider Raj Seshadri sold 1,100 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, June 27th. The stock was 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. This represents a 7.85% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Craig Vosburg sold 9,428 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, June 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $353.05, for a total value of $3,328,555.40. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 58,451 shares of the company's stock, valued at $20,636,125.55. The trade was a 13.89% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 38,753 shares of company stock worth $20,351,084. 0.09% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.