LGT Fund Management Co Ltd. Acquires 2,516 Shares of Mastercard Incorporated $MA

LGT Fund Management Co Ltd. increased its holdings in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) by 17.9% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 16,560 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 2,516 shares during the quarter. Mastercard comprises about 0.8% of LGT Fund Management Co Ltd.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 29th biggest holding. LGT Fund Management Co Ltd.’s holdings in Mastercard were worth $9,306,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Accredited Investors Inc. boosted its position in Mastercard by 2.6% in the 1st quarter. Accredited Investors Inc. now owns 718 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $394,000 after purchasing an additional 18 shares in the last quarter. Wealthstream Advisors Inc. boosted its position in Mastercard by 2.9% in the 1st quarter. Wealthstream Advisors Inc. now owns 632 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $347,000 after purchasing an additional 18 shares in the last quarter. Phillips Wealth Planners LLC boosted its position in Mastercard by 1.8% in the 1st quarter. Phillips Wealth Planners LLC now owns 1,055 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $538,000 after purchasing an additional 19 shares in the last quarter. Alta Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Mastercard by 3.6% during the 1st quarter. Alta Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 540 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $296,000 after buying an additional 19 shares in the last quarter. Finally, May Hill Capital LLC lifted its position in shares of Mastercard by 2.0% during the 1st quarter. May Hill Capital LLC now owns 986 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $540,000 after buying an additional 19 shares in the last quarter. 97.28% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CFO J. Mehra Sachin sold 17,816 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $586.89, for a total transaction of $10,456,032.24. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 31,234 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $18,330,922.26. The trade was a 36.32% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Julius Genachowski sold 312 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $570.67, for a total transaction of $178,049.04. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 8,469 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,833,004.23. This represents a 3.55% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 35,391 shares of company stock worth $20,836,514 in the last 90 days. 0.09% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Mastercard Trading Up 0.6%

Shares of MA stock opened at $581.08 on Friday. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $580.26 and its two-hundred day moving average is $561.67. 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 firm has a market capitalization of $525.30 billion, a P/E ratio of 39.18, a PEG ratio of 2.37 and a beta of 0.97. Mastercard Incorporated has a fifty-two week low of $465.59 and a fifty-two week high of $601.77.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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. The company had revenue of $8.13 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.95 billion. Mastercard had a return on equity of 200.01% and a net margin of 44.93%.The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 16.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $3.50 EPS. Research analysts expect that Mastercard Incorporated will post 15.91 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Mastercard Announces Dividend

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

MA has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Wall Street Zen lowered Mastercard from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, September 26th. KeyCorp increased their target price on Mastercard from $635.00 to $660.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, August 1st. TD Cowen reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $645.00 target price on shares of Mastercard in a research report on Monday, August 11th. The Goldman Sachs Group reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Mastercard in a research report on Friday, August 1st. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft initiated coverage on Mastercard in a research report on Thursday, July 17th. They set a “buy” rating and a $650.00 target price on the stock. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-five have assigned a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $630.89.

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.