Aaron Wealth Advisors LLC Raises Stock Position in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA)

Aaron Wealth Advisors LLC grew its stake in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) by 6.5% in the 1st quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 5,825 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 355 shares during the period. Aaron Wealth Advisors LLC’s holdings in Mastercard were worth $3,193,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of MA. NewSquare Capital LLC acquired a new position in Mastercard during the fourth quarter worth approximately $26,000. Measured Risk Portfolios Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Mastercard during the fourth quarter worth approximately $31,000. Navigoe LLC acquired a new position in shares of Mastercard in the 4th quarter valued at $33,000. 10Elms LLP acquired a new position in shares of Mastercard in the 4th quarter valued at $33,000. Finally, Truvestments Capital LLC raised its position in Mastercard by 62.5% in the 4th quarter. Truvestments Capital LLC now owns 65 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $34,000 after purchasing an additional 25 shares during the last quarter. 97.28% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, insider Raj Seshadri sold 1,100 shares of Mastercard stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, June 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $546.77, for a total transaction of $601,447.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 12,921 shares in the company, valued at $7,064,815.17. The trade was a 7.85% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider Linda Pistecchia Kirkpatrick sold 958 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, June 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $560.00, for a total value of $536,480.00. Following the sale, the insider owned 23,624 shares in the company, valued at approximately $13,229,440. This trade represents a 3.90% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 38,441 shares of company stock worth $20,173,035. 0.09% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have issued reports on MA. Monness Crespi & Hardt downgraded shares of Mastercard from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 9th. Citigroup raised their price target on Mastercard from $650.00 to $652.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, May 5th. Evercore ISI began coverage on Mastercard in a research report on Wednesday, April 9th. They issued an “in-line” rating and a $550.00 price target on the stock. Tigress Financial reaffirmed a “strong-buy” rating on shares of Mastercard in a research report on Monday, March 10th. Finally, Wall Street Zen downgraded Mastercard from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, June 14th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-four have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Mastercard presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $611.50.

Mastercard Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:MA opened at $564.89 on Wednesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $515.02 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 39.61, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.45 and a beta of 1.02. 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 business’s 50 day simple moving average is $564.92 and its 200-day simple moving average is $545.89. Mastercard Incorporated has a 12 month low of $428.86 and a 12 month high of $594.71.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 1st. The credit services provider reported $3.73 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.57 by $0.16. The firm had revenue of $7.25 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $7.12 billion. Mastercard had a return on equity of 196.87% and a net margin of 45.21%. Mastercard’s revenue was up 14.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $3.31 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Mastercard Incorporated will post 15.91 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Mastercard Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 8th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, July 9th will be paid a dividend of $0.76 per share. This represents a $3.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.54%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, July 9th. Mastercard’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 21.32%.

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.