Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) Shares Acquired by Kestra Private Wealth Services LLC

Kestra Private Wealth Services LLC boosted its position in shares of Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) by 4.4% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 26,074 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,093 shares during the period. Kestra Private Wealth Services LLC’s holdings in Mastercard were worth $14,292,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Measured Risk Portfolios Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Mastercard in the 4th quarter valued at about $31,000. 10Elms LLP bought a new stake in Mastercard in the 4th quarter valued at about $33,000. Hughes Financial Services LLC bought a new stake in Mastercard in the 1st quarter valued at about $34,000. Navigoe LLC bought a new stake in Mastercard in the 4th quarter valued at about $33,000. Finally, Mpwm Advisory Solutions LLC bought a new stake in Mastercard in the 4th quarter valued at about $36,000. 97.28% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Mastercard Stock Performance

NYSE:MA traded down $3.09 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $552.52. 2,579,579 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,663,399. Mastercard Incorporated has a twelve month low of $428.86 and a twelve month high of $594.71. The stock has a market capitalization of $503.74 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 38.75, a P/E/G ratio of 2.41 and a beta of 1.02. The company has a current ratio of 1.11, a quick ratio of 1.11 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.81. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $567.30 and a 200 day moving average of $548.44.

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

Mastercard Dividend Announcement

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

Insider Buying and Selling at Mastercard

In related news, Director Julius Genachowski sold 312 shares of Mastercard stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, July 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $570.67, for a total transaction 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 position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider Raj Seshadri sold 1,100 shares of Mastercard stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, June 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $546.77, for a total transaction of $601,447.00. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 12,921 shares in the company, valued at $7,064,815.17. The trade was a 7.85% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 38,753 shares of company stock worth $20,351,084 over the last quarter. Company insiders own 0.09% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts recently weighed in on MA shares. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft assumed coverage on shares of Mastercard in a research report on Thursday. They issued a “buy” rating and a $650.00 price objective on the stock. Wolfe Research set a $655.00 price target on shares of Mastercard in a research report on Monday, June 23rd. Seaport Res Ptn upgraded shares of Mastercard from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Monday, July 14th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Mastercard from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Friday. Finally, KeyCorp raised their target price on shares of Mastercard from $630.00 to $635.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, May 2nd. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-five have given a buy rating and three have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $612.90.

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.