Aptus Capital Advisors LLC Grows Position in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA)

Aptus Capital Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) by 8.2% during the second quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 6,197 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after buying an additional 472 shares during the quarter. Aptus Capital Advisors LLC’s holdings in Mastercard were worth $2,733,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Semus Wealth Partners LLC increased its stake in shares of Mastercard by 10.0% during the second quarter. Semus Wealth Partners LLC now owns 3,009 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $1,327,000 after buying an additional 274 shares during the period. nVerses Capital LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Mastercard during the second quarter worth approximately $397,000. Investment Advisory Group LLC increased its stake in shares of Mastercard by 20.9% during the second quarter. Investment Advisory Group LLC now owns 665 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $293,000 after buying an additional 115 shares during the period. Farther Finance Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Mastercard by 33.2% during the second quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 12,345 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $5,402,000 after buying an additional 3,074 shares during the period. Finally, Ascent Wealth Partners LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Mastercard during the second quarter worth approximately $4,365,000. 97.28% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on MA. Evercore ISI lowered their price target on Mastercard from $540.00 to $525.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, June 25th. BMO Capital Markets reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $520.00 price target on shares of Mastercard in a report on Wednesday, August 14th. Barclays upped their price target on Mastercard from $530.00 to $536.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, August 5th. Susquehanna upped their price target on Mastercard from $535.00 to $540.00 and gave the company a “positive” rating in a report on Thursday, August 1st. Finally, Piper Sandler upped their price target on Mastercard from $531.00 to $536.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, August 2nd. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-one have given a buy rating and four have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $512.09.

Mastercard Price Performance

MA stock opened at $483.34 on Monday. The company has a current ratio of 1.14, a quick ratio of 1.14 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.95. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $453.20 and a 200-day simple moving average of $459.06. Mastercard Incorporated has a twelve month low of $359.77 and a twelve month high of $490.00. The company has a market capitalization of $446.53 billion, a P/E ratio of 38.42, a PEG ratio of 1.90 and a beta of 1.09.

Mastercard Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 9th. Investors of record on Tuesday, July 9th were issued a dividend of $0.66 per share. This represents a $2.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.55%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, July 9th. Mastercard’s dividend payout ratio is presently 20.99%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related 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 transaction of $4,038,043.84. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 58,940 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $26,362,683.20. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In related news, insider Raj Seshadri sold 3,464 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, June 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $447.84, for a total transaction of $1,551,317.76. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 13,736 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,151,530.24. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, 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 transaction, the insider now owns 58,940 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $26,362,683.20. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 1,406,959 shares of company stock valued at $638,333,126 over the last three months. 0.10% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.