Forum Financial Management LP Purchases 143 Shares of Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA)

Forum Financial Management LP lifted its stake in shares of Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) by 3.3% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 4,447 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 143 shares during the quarter. Forum Financial Management LP’s holdings in Mastercard were worth $2,437,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Whalerock Point Partners LLC raised its holdings in Mastercard by 1.3% during the fourth quarter. Whalerock Point Partners LLC now owns 14,678 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $7,729,000 after buying an additional 185 shares during the last quarter. Fortis Advisors LLC boosted its position in Mastercard by 9.4% during the first 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 boosted its position in 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 worth $380,000 after purchasing an additional 185 shares during the period. Kingswood Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Mastercard by 18.0% in 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 acquiring an additional 1,047 shares during the period. Finally, Baldwin Investment Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Mastercard by 5.7% in the fourth quarter. Baldwin Investment Management LLC now owns 1,731 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $911,000 after acquiring an additional 93 shares during the period. 97.28% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Mastercard Stock Up 0.9%

MA opened at $555.16 on Thursday. The business’s fifty day moving average is $567.85 and its two-hundred day moving average is $548.05. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.81, a quick ratio of 1.11 and a current ratio of 1.11. The company has a market cap of $506.14 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 38.93, a PEG ratio of 2.39 and a beta of 1.02. Mastercard Incorporated has a one year low of $428.86 and a one year high of $594.71.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 1st. The credit services provider reported $3.73 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.57 by $0.16. Mastercard had a return on equity of 196.87% and a net margin of 45.21%. The company had revenue of $7.25 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.12 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $3.31 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 14.2% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts anticipate that Mastercard Incorporated will post 15.91 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Mastercard Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 8th. Investors of record on Wednesday, July 9th will be given a $0.76 dividend. This represents a $3.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.55%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, July 9th. Mastercard’s dividend payout ratio is currently 21.32%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Linda Pistecchia Kirkpatrick sold 958 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, June 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $560.00, for a total value of $536,480.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 23,624 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $13,229,440. This trade represents a 3.90% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, Director Julius Genachowski sold 312 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, July 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $570.67, for a total value of $178,049.04. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 8,469 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,833,004.23. This trade represents a 3.55% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 38,753 shares of company stock valued at $20,351,084 in the last quarter. 0.09% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on MA shares. KeyCorp raised their target price on shares of Mastercard from $630.00 to $635.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, May 2nd. Monness Crespi & Hardt downgraded shares of Mastercard from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 9th. The Goldman Sachs Group reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $633.00 price target on shares of Mastercard in a report on Wednesday, April 2nd. UBS Group boosted their target price on shares of Mastercard from $660.00 to $670.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, June 3rd. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Mastercard in a research note on Friday, June 6th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-four have issued a buy rating and three have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $611.50.

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.