Newport Capital Group LLC Makes New Investment in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA)

Newport Capital Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) during the second quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 1,833 shares of the credit services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $809,000. Mastercard makes up approximately 0.6% of Newport Capital Group LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 26th biggest position.

Other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Hoxton Planning & Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Mastercard by 1.4% during the 1st quarter. Hoxton Planning & Management LLC now owns 1,637 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $788,000 after buying an additional 22 shares in the last quarter. Quilter Plc raised its holdings in Mastercard by 2.8% during the second quarter. Quilter Plc now owns 801 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $353,000 after acquiring an additional 22 shares during the period. Carolinas Wealth Consulting LLC lifted its position 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 valued at $206,000 after acquiring an additional 23 shares in the last quarter. Benin Management CORP boosted 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 acquiring an additional 23 shares during the period. Finally, Atticus Wealth Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Mastercard by 1.3% in the first quarter. Atticus Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,734 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $835,000 after acquiring an additional 23 shares during the period. 97.28% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Mastercard news, major shareholder Foundation Mastercard sold 119,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, August 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $468.46, for a total value of $55,746,740.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 92,033,308 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $43,113,923,465.68. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other news, major shareholder Foundation Mastercard sold 119,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $468.46, for a total transaction of $55,746,740.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 92,033,308 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $43,113,923,465.68. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CMO Venkata R. Madabhushi sold 4,685 shares of Mastercard stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, September 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $493.10, for a total transaction of $2,310,173.50. Following the sale, the chief marketing officer now directly owns 17,118 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,440,885.80. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 340,809 shares of company stock valued at $159,610,703. Insiders own 0.10% of the company’s stock.

Mastercard Trading Up 0.5 %

MA stock opened at $493.64 on Monday. Mastercard Incorporated has a twelve month low of $359.77 and a twelve month high of $501.80. The stock has a market capitalization of $458.90 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 39.24, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.96 and a beta of 1.10. The company has a quick ratio of 1.14, a current ratio of 1.14 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.95. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $470.79 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $461.76.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 31st. The credit services provider reported $3.59 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.51 by $0.08. The company had revenue of $6.96 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.85 billion. Mastercard had a net margin of 46.45% and a return on equity of 179.78%. As a group, analysts anticipate that Mastercard Incorporated will post 14.29 earnings per share for the current year.

Mastercard Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 8th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, October 9th will be issued a $0.66 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, October 9th. This represents a $2.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.53%. Mastercard’s payout ratio is 20.99%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

MA has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Argus raised Mastercard to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Thursday, August 1st. Susquehanna lifted their price objective on shares of Mastercard from $535.00 to $540.00 and gave the company a “positive” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 1st. Barclays upped their target price on shares of Mastercard from $530.00 to $536.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, August 5th. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price target on shares of Mastercard from $500.00 to $526.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, August 1st. Finally, Citigroup boosted their price target on shares of Mastercard from $528.00 to $538.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 1st. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty have given a buy rating and three have issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Mastercard currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $513.70.

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.