WealthShield Partners LLC Takes Position in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA)

Key Points

• WealthShield Partners LLC acquired a new stake in Mastercard during Q1, buying 3,641 shares valued at approximately $1,996,000.
• Institutional investors hold a significant 97.28% of Mastercard's stock, with several hedge funds increasing their positions during the same period.
• Mastercard recently reported an earnings per share of $4.15, exceeding analysts' expectations, and declared a quarterly dividend of $0.76 per share.

WealthShield Partners LLC bought a new position in shares of Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA - Free Report) during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm bought 3,641 shares of the credit services provider's stock, valued at approximately $1,996,000.

Several other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of MA. Measured Risk Portfolios Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Mastercard in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Navigoe LLC bought a new position in shares of Mastercard in the fourth quarter valued at $33,000. 10Elms LLP bought a new position in shares of Mastercard in the fourth quarter valued at $33,000. Hughes Financial Services LLC bought a new position in shares of Mastercard in the first quarter valued at $34,000. Finally, Mpwm Advisory Solutions LLC bought a new position in shares of Mastercard in the fourth quarter valued at $36,000. 97.28% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Mastercard Price Performance

MA traded up $13.20 on Friday, hitting $574.42. 2,907,568 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,618,541. Mastercard Incorporated has a 12 month low of $453.46 and a 12 month high of $594.71. The business has a 50-day moving average of $563.90 and a two-hundred day moving average of $553.24. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.41, a current ratio of 1.16 and a quick ratio of 1.16. The firm has a market capitalization of $523.70 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 38.73, a PEG ratio of 2.30 and a beta of 1.03.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 31st. The credit services provider reported $4.15 earnings per share 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 business had revenue of $8.13 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $7.95 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $3.50 earnings per share. Mastercard's revenue was up 16.8% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts forecast that Mastercard Incorporated will post 15.91 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Mastercard Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 8th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, July 9th will be paid a dividend of $0.76 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, July 9th. This represents a $3.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.5%. Mastercard's payout ratio is presently 20.50%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

MA has been the subject of several analyst reports. Citigroup raised 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. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Mastercard from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, July 18th. Wolfe Research set a $655.00 target price on shares of Mastercard in a research note on Monday, June 23rd. Morgan Stanley raised their target price on shares of Mastercard from $639.00 to $661.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, August 1st. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group reissued a "buy" rating on shares of Mastercard in a research note on Friday, August 1st. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-five have assigned a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $615.33.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Mastercard news, insider Raj Seshadri sold 1,100 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the insider owned 12,921 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $7,064,815.17. The trade was a 7.85% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Craig Vosburg sold 14,051 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the insider directly owned 58,451 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $34,196,757.55. The trade was a 19.38% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 38,603 shares of company stock worth $20,265,667 in the last ninety days. Insiders own 0.09% of the company's stock.

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.