ERn Financial LLC Makes New Investment in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA)

ERn Financial LLC purchased a new position in shares of Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm purchased 434 shares of the credit services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $209,000.

Several other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Hoxton Planning & Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Mastercard by 1.4% in the first quarter. Hoxton Planning & Management LLC now owns 1,637 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $788,000 after buying an additional 22 shares during the period. Carolinas Wealth Consulting LLC increased its stake in shares of Mastercard by 5.0% in the fourth quarter. Carolinas Wealth Consulting LLC now owns 484 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $206,000 after buying an additional 23 shares during the period. Benin Management CORP increased its stake in shares of Mastercard by 3.0% in the first quarter. Benin Management CORP now owns 794 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $382,000 after buying an additional 23 shares during the period. Cypress Wealth Services LLC increased its stake in shares of Mastercard by 2.9% in the fourth quarter. Cypress Wealth Services LLC now owns 864 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $369,000 after buying an additional 24 shares during the period. Finally, Syntegra Private Wealth Group LLC increased its stake in shares of Mastercard by 1.2% in the fourth quarter. Syntegra Private Wealth Group LLC now owns 1,996 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $851,000 after buying an additional 24 shares during the period. 97.28% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages recently commented on MA. Evercore ISI decreased their target price on shares of Mastercard from $540.00 to $525.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday. TD Cowen started coverage on shares of Mastercard in a report on Thursday, April 11th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $545.00 price target on the stock. Susquehanna reiterated a “positive” rating and issued a $535.00 price target on shares of Mastercard in a report on Wednesday, April 3rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price target on shares of Mastercard from $520.00 to $510.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, May 2nd. Finally, Mizuho cut their price target on shares of Mastercard from $480.00 to $478.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, May 2nd. Two research 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 company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $496.91.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Mastercard news, insider Craig Vosburg sold 9,028 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, June 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $447.28, for a total value of $4,038,043.84. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 58,940 shares in the company, valued at approximately $26,362,683.20. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. In other news, insider Craig Vosburg sold 9,028 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, June 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $447.28, for a total transaction of $4,038,043.84. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 58,940 shares in the company, valued at $26,362,683.20. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, major shareholder Foundation Mastercard sold 138,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, June 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $453.19, for a total value of $62,540,220.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 92,152,308 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $41,762,504,462.52. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 3,163,228 shares of company stock worth $1,428,540,870. Corporate insiders own 0.10% of the company’s stock.

Mastercard Price Performance

Shares of Mastercard stock opened at $443.13 on Friday. Mastercard Incorporated has a one year low of $359.77 and a one year high of $490.00. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.86, a quick ratio of 1.09 and a current ratio of 1.09. The stock has a market cap of $411.94 billion, a P/E ratio of 35.22, a P/E/G ratio of 1.77 and a beta of 1.09. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $452.02 and its 200 day moving average is $452.77.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA) last issued 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 business had revenue of $6.35 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.34 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $2.80 EPS. Mastercard’s revenue for the quarter was up 10.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Mastercard Incorporated will post 14.26 earnings per share 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 paid a $0.66 dividend. 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 0.60%. Mastercard’s payout ratio is presently 20.99%.

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.