Norden Group LLC Acquires 204 Shares of Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA)

Norden Group LLC grew its holdings in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) by 1.5% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 14,093 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after buying an additional 204 shares during the period. Mastercard accounts for about 0.9% of Norden Group LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 14th biggest holding. Norden Group LLC’s holdings in Mastercard were worth $7,725,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Whalerock Point Partners LLC increased its stake in shares of Mastercard by 1.3% during the fourth quarter. Whalerock Point Partners LLC now owns 14,678 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $7,729,000 after purchasing an additional 185 shares during the period. Fortis Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Mastercard by 9.4% during the first quarter. Fortis Advisors LLC now owns 871 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $477,000 after purchasing an additional 75 shares during the period. Canandaigua National Trust Co of Florida increased its stake in shares of Mastercard by 36.4% during the first quarter. Canandaigua National Trust Co of Florida now owns 693 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $380,000 after purchasing an additional 185 shares during the period. Kingswood Wealth Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Mastercard by 18.0% during the first quarter. Kingswood Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 6,870 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $3,766,000 after purchasing an additional 1,047 shares during the period. Finally, Baldwin Investment Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Mastercard by 5.7% during the fourth quarter. Baldwin Investment Management LLC now owns 1,731 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $911,000 after purchasing an additional 93 shares during the period. 97.28% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Linda Pistecchia Kirkpatrick sold 959 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, June 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $572.86, for a total transaction of $549,372.74. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 25,540 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $14,630,844.40. This trade represents a 3.62% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, insider Raj Seshadri sold 1,100 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, June 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $546.77, for a total value of $601,447.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 12,921 shares of the company’s stock, 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. Insiders sold 38,753 shares of company stock valued at $20,351,084 over the last 90 days. 0.09% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have recently weighed in on MA shares. UBS Group increased their target price on Mastercard from $660.00 to $670.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 3rd. The Goldman Sachs Group reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $633.00 price objective on shares of Mastercard in a report on Wednesday, April 2nd. Royal Bank Of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $650.00 price objective on shares of Mastercard in a report on Tuesday, July 15th. Evercore ISI began coverage on shares of Mastercard in a report on Wednesday, April 9th. They issued an “in-line” rating and a $550.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Monness Crespi & Hardt lowered Mastercard from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 9th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-five have given a buy rating and three have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $612.90.

Mastercard Trading Up 0.8%

NYSE MA opened at $568.18 on Monday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.11, a current ratio of 1.11 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.81. Mastercard Incorporated has a twelve month low of $432.11 and a twelve month high of $594.71. The company has a market cap of $518.02 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 39.84, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.46 and a beta of 1.02. The business’s fifty day moving average is $565.61 and its 200 day moving average is $550.38.

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

Mastercard Announces Dividend

The company 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 $0.76 dividend. This represents a $3.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.54%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, July 9th. Mastercard’s dividend payout ratio is currently 21.32%.

Mastercard Company 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.