Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) Position Lifted by Bayforest Capital Ltd

Bayforest Capital Ltd raised its stake in shares of Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) by 107.3% during the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 481 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 249 shares during the quarter. Bayforest Capital Ltd’s holdings in Mastercard were worth $264,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in MA. Whalerock Point Partners LLC increased its holdings in shares of Mastercard by 1.3% in the 4th quarter. Whalerock Point Partners LLC now owns 14,678 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $7,729,000 after acquiring an additional 185 shares during the period. Fortis Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Mastercard by 9.4% in the 1st quarter. Fortis Advisors LLC now owns 871 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $477,000 after acquiring an additional 75 shares during the period. Canandaigua National Trust Co of Florida increased its holdings in shares of Mastercard by 36.4% in the 1st quarter. Canandaigua National Trust Co of Florida now owns 693 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $380,000 after acquiring an additional 185 shares during the period. Kingswood Wealth Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Mastercard by 18.0% in the 1st quarter. Kingswood Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 6,870 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $3,766,000 after acquiring an additional 1,047 shares during the period. Finally, Baldwin Investment Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Mastercard by 5.7% in the 4th quarter. Baldwin Investment Management LLC now owns 1,731 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $911,000 after acquiring an additional 93 shares during the period. 97.28% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Mastercard Price Performance

NYSE:MA opened at $566.16 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $516.17 billion, a P/E ratio of 39.70, a PEG ratio of 2.42 and a beta of 1.02. Mastercard Incorporated has a one year low of $439.59 and a one year high of $594.71. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $564.67 and a 200 day moving average price of $551.39. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.81, a current ratio of 1.11 and a quick ratio of 1.11.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA) last released its earnings results on Thursday, July 31st. The credit services provider reported $4.15 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $4.05 by $0.10. The firm had revenue of $8.13 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $7.95 billion. Mastercard had a net margin of 45.21% and a return on equity of 196.87%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 16.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $3.50 EPS. Analysts anticipate that Mastercard Incorporated will post 15.91 earnings per share for the current year.

Mastercard Dividend Announcement

The firm 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. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, July 9th. This represents a $3.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.5%. Mastercard’s dividend payout ratio is currently 21.32%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Mastercard

In other news, Director Julius Genachowski sold 312 shares of the 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 completion of the transaction, the director owned 8,469 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,833,004.23. This represents a 3.55% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Craig Vosburg sold 14,051 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, June 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $585.05, for a total transaction of $8,220,537.55. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 58,451 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $34,196,757.55. This represents a 19.38% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 38,753 shares of company stock worth $20,351,084. Corporate insiders own 0.09% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts recently weighed in on MA shares. Citigroup increased their price objective on shares of Mastercard from $650.00 to $652.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, May 5th. Jefferies Financial Group reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Mastercard in a research note on Friday, June 6th. UBS Group raised their target price on shares of Mastercard from $660.00 to $670.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 3rd. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Mastercard from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, July 18th. Finally, Seaport Res Ptn raised shares of Mastercard from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday, July 14th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-five have assigned a buy rating and three have given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $612.90.

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.