Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) Shares Acquired by Strategic Planning Group LLC

Strategic Planning Group LLC increased its stake in shares of Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) by 16.3% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 4,452 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 623 shares during the period. Strategic Planning Group LLC’s holdings in Mastercard were worth $2,144,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of MA. Altshuler Shaham Ltd acquired a new position in Mastercard during the 4th quarter worth approximately $26,000. VitalStone Financial LLC raised its position in shares of Mastercard by 300.0% in the 4th quarter. VitalStone Financial LLC now owns 60 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 45 shares in the last quarter. LFA Lugano Financial Advisors SA acquired a new position in shares of Mastercard in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Westend Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Mastercard in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Finally, Scarborough Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Mastercard in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $28,000. 97.28% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, major shareholder Foundation Mastercard sold 111,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, April 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $457.15, for a total value of $50,743,650.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 97,432,308 shares in the company, valued at $44,541,179,602.20. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. In other news, major shareholder Foundation Mastercard sold 111,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, April 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $457.15, for a total value of $50,743,650.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 97,432,308 shares in the company, valued at $44,541,179,602.20. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, insider Craig Vosburg sold 9,028 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, June 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $451.06, for a total value of $4,072,169.68. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 58,940 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $26,585,476.40. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 2,894,228 shares of company stock worth $1,305,811,390. 0.10% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have issued reports on MA. Mizuho cut their target price on Mastercard from $480.00 to $478.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, May 2nd. TD Cowen began coverage on Mastercard in a research report on Thursday, April 11th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $545.00 target price on the stock. Barclays cut their target price on Mastercard from $549.00 to $530.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, May 6th. Susquehanna reiterated a “positive” rating and issued a $535.00 price target on shares of Mastercard in a report on Wednesday, April 3rd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on Mastercard from $490.00 to $530.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 6th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-three have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $497.78.

Mastercard Trading Up 0.5 %

Shares of MA stock opened at $459.34 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.86, a quick ratio of 1.09 and a current ratio of 1.09. Mastercard Incorporated has a 1 year low of $359.77 and a 1 year high of $490.00. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $452.25 and a two-hundred day moving average of $452.47. The firm has a market capitalization of $427.01 billion, a PE ratio of 36.32, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.78 and a beta of 1.09.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 1st. The credit services provider reported $3.31 earnings per share (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 company had revenue of $6.35 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.34 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $2.80 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 10.4% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts expect that Mastercard Incorporated will post 14.22 EPS for the current year.

Mastercard Announces Dividend

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 of this dividend is Tuesday, July 9th. This represents a $2.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.57%. 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.