HM Payson & Co. Buys 929 Shares of Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA)

HM Payson & Co. raised its stake in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) by 0.4% during the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 247,060 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 929 shares during the period. Mastercard comprises 2.4% of HM Payson & Co.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 9th biggest position. HM Payson & Co.’s holdings in Mastercard were worth $135,418,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of Mastercard in the 4th quarter valued at about $6,022,224,000. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its holdings in shares of Mastercard by 65,631.5% in the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 8,225,637 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $4,508,636,000 after acquiring an additional 8,213,123 shares during the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp increased its holdings in shares of Mastercard by 15.2% in the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 9,149,181 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $4,817,684,000 after acquiring an additional 1,207,787 shares during the last quarter. Sanders Capital LLC purchased a new position in shares of Mastercard in the 4th quarter valued at about $617,303,000. Finally, Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH purchased a new position in shares of Mastercard in the 4th quarter valued at about $561,313,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 97.28% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have recently commented on MA. Citigroup increased their price objective on Mastercard from $650.00 to $652.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, May 5th. Tigress Financial reiterated a “strong-buy” rating on shares of Mastercard in a report on Monday, March 10th. KeyCorp raised their price target on Mastercard from $630.00 to $635.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, May 2nd. Evercore ISI began coverage on Mastercard in a research note on Wednesday, April 9th. They set an “in-line” rating and a $550.00 price target on the stock. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group restated a “buy” rating and set a $633.00 price target on shares of Mastercard in a research note on Wednesday, April 2nd. 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’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $611.50.

Insider Transactions at Mastercard

In related news, insider Craig Vosburg sold 9,428 shares of Mastercard stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, June 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $353.05, for a total value of $3,328,555.40. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 58,451 shares in the company, valued at $20,636,125.55. The trade was a 13.89% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, insider Raj Seshadri sold 1,100 shares of Mastercard stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, June 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $546.77, for a total value of $601,447.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 12,921 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,064,815.17. This trade represents a 7.85% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 38,441 shares of company stock valued at $20,173,035. 0.09% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Mastercard Trading Up 0.9%

Shares of MA stock opened at $566.53 on Friday. The business’s 50 day moving average is $566.83 and its two-hundred day moving average is $546.49. Mastercard Incorporated has a twelve month low of $428.86 and a twelve month high of $594.71. The company has a market capitalization of $516.51 billion, a P/E ratio of 39.73, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.47 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.

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

Mastercard Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 8th. Investors of record on Wednesday, July 9th will be paid a $0.76 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, July 9th. This represents a $3.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.54%. Mastercard’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 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.