Ground Swell Capital LLC Acquires Shares of 769 Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA)

Ground Swell Capital LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm acquired 769 shares of the credit services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $422,000. Mastercard makes up about 0.9% of Ground Swell Capital LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 29th largest holding.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Mastercard by 0.5% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 77,544,675 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $42,503,787,000 after buying an additional 365,537 shares in the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp raised its stake in Mastercard by 15.2% during the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 9,149,181 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $4,817,684,000 after purchasing an additional 1,207,787 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its stake in Mastercard by 65,631.5% during the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 8,225,637 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $4,508,636,000 after purchasing an additional 8,213,123 shares during the period. Nuveen LLC purchased a new position in Mastercard during the first quarter worth about $4,238,764,000. Finally, Nuveen Asset Management LLC raised its stake in Mastercard by 1.0% during the fourth quarter. Nuveen Asset Management LLC now owns 7,610,333 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $4,007,373,000 after purchasing an additional 71,874 shares during the period. 97.28% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

MA has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. The Goldman Sachs Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Mastercard in a research note on Friday, August 1st. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft began coverage on shares of Mastercard in a research note on Thursday, July 17th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $650.00 price target on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on shares of Mastercard from $625.00 to $650.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, August 1st. KeyCorp boosted their price target on shares of Mastercard from $635.00 to $660.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, August 1st. Finally, Seaport Res Ptn upgraded shares of Mastercard from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday, July 14th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-five have issued a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $615.33.

Mastercard Trading Up 0.7%

Shares of Mastercard stock opened at $578.08 on Thursday. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $563.47 and a 200-day simple moving average of $554.15. Mastercard Incorporated has a 12-month low of $456.07 and a 12-month high of $594.71. The company has a current ratio of 1.16, a quick ratio of 1.16 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.41. The stock has a market cap of $522.59 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 38.98, a PEG ratio of 2.36 and a beta of 1.03.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, July 31st. The credit services provider reported $4.15 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $4.05 by $0.10. Mastercard had a net margin of 44.93% and a return on equity of 200.01%. The business had revenue of $8.13 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $7.95 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $3.50 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 16.8% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts forecast that Mastercard Incorporated will post 15.91 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Mastercard Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 8th. Investors of record on Wednesday, July 9th were given a $0.76 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, July 9th. This represents a $3.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.5%. Mastercard’s dividend payout ratio is 20.50%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Mastercard

In related news, 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 value of $601,447.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 12,921 shares in the company, valued at $7,064,815.17. This represents a 7.85% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Craig Vosburg sold 9,428 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, June 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $353.05, for a total transaction of $3,328,555.40. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 58,451 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $20,636,125.55. This trade represents a 13.89% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 38,453 shares of company stock worth $20,178,667 in the last 90 days. Company insiders own 0.09% of the company’s stock.

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.