Wedbush Securities Inc. Buys 192 Shares of Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA)

Wedbush Securities Inc. grew its stake in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) by 0.8% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 25,118 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 192 shares during the period. Mastercard makes up approximately 0.5% of Wedbush Securities Inc.’s holdings, making the stock its 28th largest holding. Wedbush Securities Inc.’s holdings in Mastercard were worth $13,768,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors also recently modified their holdings of MA. Measured Risk Portfolios Inc. acquired a new position in Mastercard during the 4th quarter worth $31,000. Navigoe LLC acquired a new position in Mastercard during the 4th quarter worth $33,000. 10Elms LLP acquired a new position in Mastercard during the 4th quarter worth $33,000. Hughes Financial Services LLC acquired a new position in Mastercard during the 1st quarter worth $34,000. Finally, Mpwm Advisory Solutions LLC acquired a new position in Mastercard during the 4th quarter worth $36,000. 97.28% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Mastercard Stock Up 0.8%

NYSE MA opened at $559.01 on Wednesday. The company has a current ratio of 1.11, a quick ratio of 1.11 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.81. Mastercard Incorporated has a 1-year low of $428.86 and a 1-year high of $594.71. The company has a 50 day moving average of $567.30 and a 200-day moving average of $548.77. The company has a market cap of $509.65 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 39.20, a PEG ratio of 2.41 and a beta of 1.02.

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

Mastercard Dividend Announcement

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages recently commented on MA. Jefferies Financial Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Mastercard in a research note on Friday, June 6th. KeyCorp raised their price objective on Mastercard from $630.00 to $635.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, May 2nd. Royal Bank Of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $650.00 price objective on shares of Mastercard in a research note on Tuesday, July 15th. Truist Financial dropped their price objective on Mastercard from $640.00 to $612.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, July 17th. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded Mastercard from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, July 18th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-five have assigned a buy rating and three have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $612.90.

Insider Activity at Mastercard

In related news, Director Julius Genachowski sold 312 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, July 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $570.67, for a total value of $178,049.04. Following the sale, the director owned 8,469 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,833,004.23. The trade was a 3.55% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Raj Seshadri sold 1,100 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, June 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $546.77, for a total transaction of $601,447.00. Following the sale, 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 position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 38,753 shares of company stock worth $20,351,084. Corporate insiders own 0.09% of the company’s stock.

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.