United Bank Boosts Holdings in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA)

United Bank grew its stake in shares of Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA - Free Report) by 6.7% in the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 7,163 shares of the credit services provider's stock after acquiring an additional 451 shares during the period. Mastercard comprises 0.5% of United Bank's investment portfolio, making the stock its 18th biggest position. United Bank's holdings in Mastercard were worth $3,926,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Measured Risk Portfolios Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Mastercard in the fourth quarter valued at $31,000. Navigoe LLC purchased a new position in Mastercard during the 4th quarter valued at about $33,000. 10Elms LLP purchased a new position in Mastercard during the 4th quarter valued at about $33,000. Hughes Financial Services LLC purchased a new position in Mastercard during the first quarter valued at approximately $34,000. Finally, Mpwm Advisory Solutions LLC purchased a new position in Mastercard during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $36,000. 97.28% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Mastercard Trading Up 0.7%

NYSE MA traded up $3.85 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, hitting $558.50. The company's stock had a trading volume of 587,372 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,655,678. The stock's fifty day simple moving average is $567.30 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $548.77. Mastercard Incorporated has a 52-week low of $428.86 and a 52-week high of $594.71. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.81, a current ratio of 1.11 and a quick ratio of 1.11. The firm has a market capitalization of $509.19 billion, a P/E ratio of 39.18, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.40 and a beta of 1.02.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, May 1st. The credit services provider reported $3.73 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $3.57 by $0.16. Mastercard had a return on equity of 196.87% and a net margin of 45.21%. The business had revenue of $7.25 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.12 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $3.31 earnings per share. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 14.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts expect that Mastercard Incorporated will post 15.91 EPS for the current 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 issued a dividend of $0.76 per share. This represents a $3.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.54%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, July 9th. Mastercard's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 21.32%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Mastercard news, Director Julius Genachowski sold 312 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $570.67, for a total value of $178,049.04. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 8,469 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,833,004.23. This represents a 3.55% decrease in their position. 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 959 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, June 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $572.86, for a total value of $549,372.74. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 25,540 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $14,630,844.40. The trade was a 3.62% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 38,753 shares of company stock valued at $20,351,084 over the last three months. 0.09% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

MA has been the subject of several research reports. Evercore ISI initiated coverage on shares of Mastercard in a research report on Wednesday, April 9th. They issued an "in-line" rating and a $550.00 target price for the company. Royal Bank Of Canada reiterated an "outperform" rating and issued a $650.00 price objective on shares of Mastercard in a report on Tuesday, July 15th. Citigroup upped their price objective on Mastercard from $650.00 to $652.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, May 5th. Wolfe Research set a $655.00 target price on Mastercard in a research note on Monday, June 23rd. Finally, Truist Financial cut their price objective 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 analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-five have given a buy rating and three have assigned 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 target price of $612.90.

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.

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