Lafayette Investments Inc. Raises Position in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA)

Lafayette Investments Inc. grew its position in shares of Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) by 4.7% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 575 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after buying an additional 26 shares during the quarter. Lafayette Investments Inc.’s holdings in Mastercard were worth $315,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Whalerock Point Partners LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Mastercard by 1.3% during the fourth quarter. Whalerock Point Partners LLC now owns 14,678 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $7,729,000 after purchasing an additional 185 shares in the last quarter. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC lifted its stake in Mastercard by 1.7% during the 4th quarter. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC now owns 71,862 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $37,841,000 after acquiring an additional 1,194 shares during the period. Kingswood Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Mastercard by 18.0% during the 1st 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 last quarter. Fortis Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Mastercard by 9.4% in the first quarter. Fortis Advisors LLC now owns 871 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $477,000 after acquiring an additional 75 shares during the period. Finally, Baldwin Investment Management LLC grew its stake 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 worth $911,000 after acquiring an additional 93 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 97.28% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Mastercard

In other Mastercard news, insider Sandra A. Arkell sold 150 shares of Mastercard stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $569.45, for a total value of $85,417.50. Following the sale, the insider now owns 3,555 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,024,394.75. The trade was a 4.05% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Craig Vosburg sold 9,428 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, June 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $588.18, for a total value of $5,545,361.04. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 58,451 shares in the company, valued at $34,379,709.18. This trade represents a 13.89% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 36,383 shares of company stock valued at $19,035,108. 0.09% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Wolfe Research set a $655.00 price objective on shares of Mastercard in a research report on Monday. Evercore ISI began coverage on Mastercard in a report on Wednesday, April 9th. They set an “in-line” rating and a $550.00 price target on the stock. The Goldman Sachs Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $633.00 price objective on shares of Mastercard in a report on Wednesday, April 2nd. Monness Crespi & Hardt cut Mastercard from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 9th. Finally, Tigress Financial reissued a “strong-buy” rating on shares of Mastercard in a research report on Monday, March 10th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-four have given a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $611.50.

Mastercard Trading Up 1.1%

Shares of MA stock opened at $552.02 on Friday. Mastercard Incorporated has a 52-week low of $428.86 and a 52-week high of $594.71. 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 firm has a market capitalization of $503.28 billion, a PE ratio of 38.71, a PEG ratio of 2.38 and a beta of 1.05. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $563.13 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $545.36.

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

Mastercard Announces Dividend

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

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.