VestGen Investment Management Invests $836,000 in Mastercard Incorporated $MA

VestGen Investment Management acquired a new position in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 1,488 shares of the credit services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $836,000.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. LGT Financial Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Mastercard during the second quarter valued at about $25,000. Family Legacy Financial Solutions LLC purchased a new position in shares of Mastercard during the second quarter valued at about $26,000. Flaharty Asset Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Mastercard during the first quarter valued at about $27,000. Keystone Global Partners LLC purchased a new position in shares of Mastercard during the first quarter valued at about $31,000. Finally, IMG Wealth Management Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Mastercard during the second quarter valued at about $31,000. Institutional investors own 97.28% of the company’s stock.

Mastercard Stock Down 0.0%

Shares of NYSE:MA opened at $573.72 on Friday. Mastercard Incorporated has a 1 year low of $465.59 and a 1 year high of $601.77. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $579.51 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $566.01. The firm has a market capitalization of $518.65 billion, a PE ratio of 38.69, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.35 and a beta of 0.97. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.41, a current ratio of 1.16 and a quick ratio of 1.16.

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

Mastercard Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 7th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, October 9th will be paid a dividend of $0.76 per share. This represents a $3.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.5%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, October 9th. Mastercard’s payout ratio is currently 20.50%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Mastercard

In other news, CFO J. Mehra Sachin sold 17,263 shares of Mastercard stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, September 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $591.00, for a total transaction of $10,202,433.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer owned 31,234 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $18,459,294. The trade was a 35.60% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Corporate insiders own 0.09% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have recently weighed in on MA. KeyCorp restated an “overweight” rating and set a $665.00 price objective on shares of Mastercard in a research report on Wednesday. Wall Street Zen upgraded Mastercard from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, October 18th. Wells Fargo & Company upgraded Mastercard to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Seaport Res Ptn upgraded Mastercard from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Monday, July 14th. Finally, Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on Mastercard from $639.00 to $661.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, August 1st. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-two have given a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $638.96.

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.