Wedmont Private Capital Increases Holdings in Mastercard Incorporated $MA

Wedmont Private Capital increased its stake in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) by 4.8% during the second quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 11,299 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after buying an additional 522 shares during the period. Wedmont Private Capital’s holdings in Mastercard were worth $6,385,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Ethos Financial Group LLC boosted its stake in Mastercard by 19.5% in the first quarter. Ethos Financial Group LLC now owns 3,174 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $1,683,000 after acquiring an additional 518 shares during the last quarter. Fortis Advisors LLC raised 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 purchasing an additional 75 shares during the period. Canandaigua National Trust Co of Florida lifted its stake in Mastercard by 36.4% in 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 purchasing an additional 185 shares during the last quarter. Kingswood Wealth Advisors LLC grew its holdings in 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 purchasing an additional 1,047 shares during the period. Finally, Focus Partners Wealth grew its holdings in Mastercard by 0.5% during the first quarter. Focus Partners Wealth now owns 607,702 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $333,095,000 after purchasing an additional 3,001 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 97.28% of the company’s stock.

Mastercard Stock Performance

NYSE MA opened at $597.99 on Thursday. Mastercard Incorporated has a 1 year low of $465.59 and a 1 year high of $601.77. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.41, a current ratio of 1.16 and a quick ratio of 1.16. The stock has a market capitalization of $540.59 billion, a PE ratio of 40.32, a P/E/G ratio of 2.40 and a beta of 0.99. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $576.11 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $558.80.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 31st. The credit services provider reported $4.15 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.05 by $0.10. The firm had revenue of $8.13 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.95 billion. Mastercard had a net margin of 44.93% and a return on equity of 200.01%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 16.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $3.50 EPS. Analysts predict that Mastercard Incorporated will post 15.91 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Mastercard Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 7th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, October 9th will be paid a $0.76 dividend. This represents a $3.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.5%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, October 9th. Mastercard’s dividend payout ratio is currently 20.50%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have issued reports on MA. Seaport Res Ptn upgraded Mastercard from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday, July 14th. Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on Mastercard from $639.00 to $661.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, August 1st. Wolfe Research set a $655.00 target price on shares of Mastercard in a research note on Monday, June 23rd. UBS Group boosted their price target on shares of Mastercard from $660.00 to $670.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, June 3rd. Finally, TD Cowen reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $645.00 price objective on shares of Mastercard in a report on Monday, August 11th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-four have issued a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Mastercard has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $630.89.

Insider Transactions at Mastercard

In other news, insider Craig Vosburg sold 9,428 shares of Mastercard stock in a transaction dated Friday, June 20th. The stock was 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 in the company, valued at approximately $20,636,125.55. This trade represents a 13.89% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider Linda Pistecchia Kirkpatrick sold 958 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $560.00, for a total transaction of $536,480.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 23,624 shares in the company, valued at approximately $13,229,440. This trade represents a 3.90% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 49,094 shares of company stock worth $26,521,861. 0.09% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.