Frederick Financial Consultants LLC Boosts Stake in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA)

Frederick Financial Consultants LLC lifted its holdings in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) by 18.8% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 1,180 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after buying an additional 187 shares during the quarter. Frederick Financial Consultants LLC’s holdings in Mastercard were worth $647,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Brighton Jones LLC increased its stake in Mastercard by 42.3% in the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 6,824 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $3,594,000 after purchasing an additional 2,028 shares during the last quarter. Bank Pictet & Cie Europe AG increased its stake in Mastercard by 11.8% in the fourth quarter. Bank Pictet & Cie Europe AG now owns 70,472 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $37,108,000 after purchasing an additional 7,452 shares during the last quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC increased its stake in Mastercard by 51.6% in the fourth quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC now owns 2,954 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $1,555,000 after purchasing an additional 1,006 shares during the last quarter. Mascagni Wealth Management Inc. acquired a new position in Mastercard in the fourth quarter valued at $73,000. Finally, Trustco Bank Corp N Y acquired a new position in Mastercard in the fourth quarter valued at $211,000. 97.28% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Mastercard news, insider Raj Seshadri sold 1,100 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, June 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $546.77, for a total transaction of $601,447.00. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 12,921 shares in the company, valued at $7,064,815.17. This trade represents a 7.85% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Linda Pistecchia Kirkpatrick sold 958 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $560.00, for a total value of $536,480.00. Following the transaction, the insider owned 23,624 shares in the company, valued at approximately $13,229,440. This trade represents a 3.90% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 38,753 shares of company stock valued at $20,351,084. 0.09% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Mastercard Stock Performance

MA opened at $555.16 on Thursday. The firm has a market cap of $506.14 billion, a PE ratio of 38.93, a P/E/G ratio of 2.39 and a beta of 1.02. The company has a quick ratio of 1.11, a current ratio of 1.11 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.81. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $567.85 and a 200-day simple moving average of $548.05. Mastercard Incorporated has a fifty-two week low of $428.86 and a fifty-two week high of $594.71.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 1st. The credit services provider reported $3.73 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.57 by $0.16. The business had revenue of $7.25 billion during 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 was up 14.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company posted $3.31 EPS. As a group, equities analysts predict that Mastercard Incorporated will post 15.91 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Mastercard Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed 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 0.55%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, July 9th. Mastercard’s dividend payout ratio is presently 21.32%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have commented on MA. Monness Crespi & Hardt lowered Mastercard from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 9th. The Goldman Sachs Group restated a “buy” rating and set a $633.00 price target on shares of Mastercard in a research note on Wednesday, April 2nd. Evercore ISI began coverage on Mastercard in a research note on Wednesday, April 9th. They set an “in-line” rating and a $550.00 price target for the company. Jefferies Financial Group restated a “buy” rating on shares of Mastercard in a research note on Friday, June 6th. Finally, Citigroup upped their price target on Mastercard from $650.00 to $652.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, May 5th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-four have assigned a buy rating and three have given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Mastercard has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $611.50.

Mastercard Profile

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.