Van Strum & Towne Inc. Increases Holdings in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA)

Van Strum & Towne Inc. lifted its position in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA - Free Report) by 68.8% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 3,375 shares of the credit services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 1,375 shares during the quarter. Van Strum & Towne Inc.'s holdings in Mastercard were worth $1,850,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Whalerock Point Partners LLC raised its position in shares of Mastercard by 1.3% in the 4th quarter. Whalerock Point Partners LLC now owns 14,678 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $7,729,000 after acquiring an additional 185 shares during the period. Fortis Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Mastercard by 9.4% in the 1st quarter. Fortis Advisors LLC now owns 871 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $477,000 after acquiring an additional 75 shares during the period. Canandaigua National Trust Co of Florida raised its position in shares of Mastercard by 36.4% in the 1st quarter. Canandaigua National Trust Co of Florida now owns 693 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $380,000 after acquiring an additional 185 shares during the period. Kingswood Wealth Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Mastercard by 18.0% in the 1st quarter. Kingswood Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 6,870 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $3,766,000 after acquiring an additional 1,047 shares during the period. Finally, Baldwin Investment Management LLC raised its position in shares of Mastercard by 5.7% in the 4th quarter. Baldwin Investment Management LLC now owns 1,731 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $911,000 after acquiring an additional 93 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 97.28% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have commented on MA shares. Truist Financial dropped their target price 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. Evercore ISI started coverage on shares of Mastercard in a report on Wednesday, April 9th. They set an "in-line" rating and a $550.00 target price on the stock. Macquarie dropped their target price on shares of Mastercard from $645.00 to $610.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, May 2nd. Citigroup raised their price target on shares of Mastercard from $650.00 to $652.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, May 5th. Finally, Seaport Res Ptn raised shares of Mastercard from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Monday, July 14th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-five have assigned a buy rating and three have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $612.90.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, 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 transaction, the insider directly owned 25,540 shares in the company, valued at $14,630,844.40. This trade represents a 3.62% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, insider Craig Vosburg sold 14,051 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, June 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $585.05, for a total value of $8,220,537.55. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 58,451 shares in the company, valued at approximately $34,196,757.55. This represents a 19.38% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 38,753 shares of company stock valued at $20,351,084 over the last 90 days. 0.09% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Mastercard Trading Up 0.8%

Shares of Mastercard stock traded up $4.36 on Tuesday, hitting $559.01. The stock had a trading volume of 2,010,250 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,661,087. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $567.30 and a 200 day moving average of $548.77. Mastercard Incorporated has a twelve month low of $428.86 and a twelve month 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. The firm has a market capitalization of $509.65 billion, a P/E ratio of 39.20, a PEG ratio of 2.40 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 analysts' consensus estimates of $3.57 by $0.16. The business 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 company's revenue for the quarter was up 14.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $3.31 EPS. Sell-side analysts expect that Mastercard Incorporated will post 15.91 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Mastercard Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 8th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, July 9th will be issued a dividend of $0.76 per share. This represents a $3.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.54%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, July 9th. Mastercard's payout ratio is 21.32%.

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.