Quantbot Technologies LP Invests $2.37 Million in Mastercard Incorporated $MA

Quantbot Technologies LP bought a new position in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) during the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor bought 4,319 shares of the credit services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $2,367,000.

Other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Ethos Financial Group LLC grew its stake in shares of Mastercard by 19.5% in the first quarter. Ethos Financial Group LLC now owns 3,174 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $1,683,000 after acquiring an additional 518 shares during the last quarter. Whalerock Point Partners LLC boosted its position 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 valued at $7,729,000 after buying an additional 185 shares during the last quarter. Fortis Advisors LLC boosted its position 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 valued at $477,000 after buying an additional 75 shares during the last quarter. Canandaigua National Trust Co of Florida boosted its position 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 valued at $380,000 after buying an additional 185 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Kingswood Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its position 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 valued at $3,766,000 after buying an additional 1,047 shares during the last quarter. 97.28% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Mastercard Stock Up 1.1%

MA stock opened at $592.2310 on Thursday. Mastercard Incorporated has a fifty-two week low of $461.90 and a fifty-two week high of $594.71. The business’s 50-day moving average is $563.25 and its two-hundred day moving average is $555.28. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.41, a quick ratio of 1.16 and a current ratio of 1.16. The company has a market cap of $535.38 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 39.93, a P/E/G ratio of 2.40 and a beta of 1.03.

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

Mastercard Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 8th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, July 9th were paid a $0.76 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, July 9th. This represents a $3.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.5%. Mastercard’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 20.50%.

Insider Transactions at Mastercard

In other news, Director Julius Genachowski sold 312 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $570.67, for a total value of $178,049.04. Following the transaction, the director owned 8,469 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,833,004.23. This trade represents a 3.55% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider Linda Pistecchia Kirkpatrick sold 959 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, June 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $572.86, for a total value of $549,372.74. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 25,540 shares in the company, valued at $14,630,844.40. This trade represents a 3.62% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 56,269 shares of company stock valued at $30,634,699. Company insiders own 0.09% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts recently commented on MA shares. TD Cowen reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $645.00 price objective on shares of Mastercard in a research report on Monday, August 11th. Macquarie dropped their price objective on Mastercard from $645.00 to $610.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, May 2nd. Wolfe Research set a $655.00 price objective on Mastercard in a research report on Monday, June 23rd. KeyCorp increased their price objective on Mastercard from $635.00 to $660.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, August 1st. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised Mastercard from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, July 18th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-four have issued a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $617.93.

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.