Nova R Wealth Inc. Boosts Stake in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA)

Nova R Wealth Inc. grew its stake in shares of Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) by 6.6% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 1,643 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after buying an additional 102 shares during the period. Nova R Wealth Inc.’s holdings in Mastercard were worth $900,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of Mastercard during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $6,022,224,000. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its holdings in Mastercard by 65,631.5% in the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 8,225,637 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $4,508,636,000 after acquiring an additional 8,213,123 shares during the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new position in Mastercard in the 4th quarter valued at $837,017,000. Proficio Capital Partners LLC lifted its stake in shares of Mastercard by 79,739.7% during the 4th quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC now owns 1,555,277 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $818,962,000 after purchasing an additional 1,553,329 shares during the period. Finally, Northern Trust Corp boosted its holdings in shares of Mastercard by 15.2% during the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 9,149,181 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $4,817,684,000 after purchasing an additional 1,207,787 shares during the last quarter. 97.28% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Mastercard Stock Performance

Mastercard stock opened at $550.02 on Thursday. Mastercard Incorporated has a 12-month low of $428.86 and a 12-month high of $594.71. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.81, a current ratio of 1.11 and a quick ratio of 1.11. The company has a market capitalization of $501.46 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 38.57, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.43 and a beta of 1.05. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $561.86 and its 200 day moving average price is $545.04.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, May 1st. The credit services provider reported $3.73 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.57 by $0.16. The business had revenue of $7.25 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.12 billion. Mastercard had a return on equity of 196.87% and a net margin of 45.21%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 14.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $3.31 earnings per share. On average, research analysts forecast that Mastercard Incorporated will post 15.91 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Mastercard Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 8th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, July 9th will be given a $0.76 dividend. This represents a $3.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.55%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, July 9th. Mastercard’s payout ratio is 21.32%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts recently commented on the company. UBS Group upped their target price on Mastercard from $660.00 to $670.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 3rd. Evercore ISI assumed coverage on shares of Mastercard in a research note on Wednesday, April 9th. They set an “in-line” rating and a $550.00 price objective for the company. Truist Financial assumed coverage on shares of Mastercard in a research report on Monday, June 2nd. They issued a “buy” rating and a $640.00 target price on the stock. The Goldman Sachs Group restated a “buy” rating and issued a $633.00 target price on shares of Mastercard in a report on Wednesday, April 2nd. Finally, Macquarie cut their price target on shares of Mastercard from $645.00 to $610.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, May 2nd. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-four have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $610.00.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Sandra A. Arkell sold 150 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $569.45, for a total value of $85,417.50. Following the sale, the insider now owns 3,555 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,024,394.75. This represents a 4.05% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, insider Craig Vosburg sold 9,428 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, June 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $588.18, for a total transaction of $5,545,361.04. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 58,451 shares in the company, valued at $34,379,709.18. The trade was a 13.89% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 35,115 shares of company stock worth $18,324,718. 0.09% of the stock is currently owned by 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.