First Merchants Corp Purchases 326 Shares of Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA)

First Merchants Corp raised its holdings in shares of Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) by 19.4% in the 2nd quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 2,007 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after buying an additional 326 shares during the period. First Merchants Corp’s holdings in Mastercard were worth $885,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in MA. Norges Bank acquired a new position in Mastercard during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $4,595,559,000. Swedbank AB acquired a new stake in shares of Mastercard in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $660,652,000. PineStone Asset Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of Mastercard by 145.6% in the second quarter. PineStone Asset Management Inc. now owns 1,777,468 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $784,148,000 after buying an additional 1,053,616 shares in the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in Mastercard by 1.0% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 75,253,734 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $32,096,470,000 after buying an additional 742,076 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Capital International Investors raised its position in Mastercard by 3.3% during the fourth quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 21,041,685 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $8,974,478,000 after acquiring an additional 676,452 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 97.28% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, major shareholder Foundation Mastercard sold 107,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $444.04, for a total transaction of $47,512,280.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 94,441,308 shares in the company, valued at approximately $41,935,718,404.32. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In related news, CFO J. Mehra Sachin sold 13,439 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $455.00, for a total transaction of $6,114,745.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 27,304 shares in the company, valued at approximately $12,423,320. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, major shareholder Foundation Mastercard sold 107,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $444.04, for a total transaction of $47,512,280.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 94,441,308 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $41,935,718,404.32. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 1,733,175 shares of company stock worth $782,773,546 in the last 90 days. Company insiders own 0.10% of the company’s stock.

Mastercard Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:MA opened at $466.44 on Friday. Mastercard Incorporated has a 12-month low of $359.77 and a 12-month high of $490.00. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $450.73 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $458.53. The firm has a market cap of $433.61 billion, a PE ratio of 37.08, a PEG ratio of 1.82 and a beta of 1.09. The company has a quick ratio of 1.09, a current ratio of 1.14 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.95.

Mastercard Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 9th. Investors of record on Tuesday, July 9th were given a dividend of $0.66 per share. This represents a $2.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.57%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, July 9th. Mastercard’s dividend payout ratio is currently 20.99%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have recently commented on MA. BMO Capital Markets reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $520.00 price objective on shares of Mastercard in a research report on Wednesday, August 14th. Barclays lifted their price target on Mastercard from $530.00 to $536.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, August 5th. Mizuho dropped their price objective on Mastercard from $480.00 to $478.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, May 2nd. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their target price on Mastercard from $500.00 to $526.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 1st. Finally, Morgan Stanley dropped their price target on Mastercard from $536.00 to $524.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, May 2nd. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-one have given a buy rating and four have given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $512.09.

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.