VitalStone Financial LLC Grows Position in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA)

VitalStone Financial LLC raised its stake in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) by 55.0% during the 1st quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 93 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 33 shares during the period. VitalStone Financial LLC’s holdings in Mastercard were worth $45,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Activest Wealth Management boosted its holdings in shares of Mastercard by 87.4% in the fourth quarter. Activest Wealth Management now owns 536 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $229,000 after acquiring an additional 250 shares during the period. Cross Staff Investments Inc lifted its holdings in shares of Mastercard by 16.3% during the fourth quarter. Cross Staff Investments Inc now owns 3,148 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $1,343,000 after purchasing an additional 441 shares during the period. Everett Harris & Co. CA lifted its holdings in shares of Mastercard by 0.5% during the fourth quarter. Everett Harris & Co. CA now owns 49,539 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $21,129,000 after purchasing an additional 252 shares during the period. Atlantic Union Bankshares Corp lifted its holdings in shares of Mastercard by 23.9% during the fourth quarter. Atlantic Union Bankshares Corp now owns 12,124 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $5,171,000 after purchasing an additional 2,337 shares during the period. Finally, J.Safra Asset Management Corp lifted its holdings in shares of Mastercard by 7.2% during the fourth quarter. J.Safra Asset Management Corp now owns 490 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $209,000 after purchasing an additional 33 shares during the period. 97.28% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages recently weighed in on MA. Susquehanna reaffirmed a “positive” rating and set a $535.00 price target on shares of Mastercard in a report on Wednesday, April 3rd. Bank of America downgraded Mastercard from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and reduced their target price for the company from $505.00 to $480.00 in a report on Wednesday. Piper Sandler initiated coverage on Mastercard in a report on Monday, May 13th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $531.00 target price for the company. Mizuho reduced their target price on Mastercard from $480.00 to $478.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, May 2nd. Finally, TD Cowen assumed coverage on Mastercard in a research report on Thursday, April 11th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $545.00 price target for the company. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-three have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $498.57.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Sandra A. Arkell sold 300 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, May 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $447.23, for a total value of $134,169.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 4,063 shares in the company, valued at $1,817,095.49. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. In other news, insider Sandra A. Arkell sold 300 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, May 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $447.23, for a total transaction of $134,169.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 4,063 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,817,095.49. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Hai Ling sold 2,892 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $460.00, for a total value of $1,330,320.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 21,420 shares in the company, valued at $9,853,200. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 3,163,228 shares of company stock worth $1,428,540,870 over the last 90 days. 0.10% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Mastercard Stock Performance

MA traded up $4.26 during trading on Friday, reaching $440.68. 982,223 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,472,935. The stock has a market cap of $409.66 billion, a P/E ratio of 34.91, a PEG ratio of 1.69 and a beta of 1.09. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $449.32 and a 200 day moving average of $454.20. The company has a current ratio of 1.09, a quick ratio of 1.09 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.86. Mastercard Incorporated has a 52 week low of $359.77 and a 52 week high of $490.00.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 1st. The credit services provider reported $3.31 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.22 by $0.09. Mastercard had a return on equity of 183.70% and a net margin of 46.09%. The firm had revenue of $6.35 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.34 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $2.80 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 10.4% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Mastercard Incorporated will post 14.26 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Mastercard Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 9th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, July 9th will be given a dividend of $0.66 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, July 9th. This represents a $2.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.60%. Mastercard’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 20.99%.

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.