Groupe la Francaise Grows Stake in Mastercard Incorporated $MA

Groupe la Francaise grew its holdings in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) by 9.2% during the 1st quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 89,642 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after buying an additional 7,551 shares during the quarter. Mastercard makes up approximately 1.1% of Groupe la Francaise’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 24th largest holding. Groupe la Francaise’s holdings in Mastercard were worth $49,861,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Ethos Financial Group LLC lifted its stake in shares of Mastercard by 19.5% during the 1st quarter. Ethos Financial Group LLC now owns 3,174 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $1,683,000 after buying an additional 518 shares in the last quarter. Whalerock Point Partners LLC raised its stake in shares of Mastercard by 1.3% during the 4th 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 during the period. Fortis Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Mastercard by 9.4% during the 1st quarter. Fortis Advisors LLC now owns 871 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $477,000 after purchasing an additional 75 shares during the period. Canandaigua National Trust Co of Florida raised its stake in shares of Mastercard by 36.4% during the 1st quarter. Canandaigua National Trust Co of Florida now owns 693 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $380,000 after purchasing an additional 185 shares during the period. Finally, Kingswood Wealth Advisors LLC raised its stake 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 purchasing an additional 1,047 shares during the period. 97.28% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Mastercard Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:MA opened at $598.1480 on Friday. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $564.03 and its 200-day moving average price is $555.73. The firm has a market capitalization of $540.73 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 40.33, a PEG ratio of 2.43 and a beta of 1.03. Mastercard Incorporated has a one year low of $461.90 and a one year high of $601.77. 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 issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 31st. The credit services provider reported $4.15 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.05 by $0.10. The firm had revenue of $8.13 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.95 billion. Mastercard had a net margin of 44.93% and a return on equity of 200.01%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 16.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $3.50 EPS. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Mastercard Incorporated will post 15.91 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Mastercard Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 8th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, July 9th were issued a $0.76 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, July 9th. This represents a $3.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.5%. Mastercard’s dividend payout ratio is presently 20.50%.

Insider Transactions at Mastercard

In other news, insider Raj Seshadri sold 1,100 shares of the stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the insider owned 12,921 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,064,815.17. This represents a 7.85% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, insider Linda Pistecchia Kirkpatrick sold 959 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, June 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $572.86, for a total transaction of $549,372.74. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 25,540 shares in the company, valued at $14,630,844.40. The trade was a 3.62% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 56,269 shares of company stock worth $30,634,699. Company insiders own 0.09% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms recently issued reports on MA. The Goldman Sachs Group reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Mastercard in a research note on Friday, August 1st. Macquarie decreased their target price on shares of Mastercard from $645.00 to $610.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, May 2nd. Jefferies Financial Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Mastercard in a report on Friday, June 6th. Wolfe Research set a $655.00 target price on shares of Mastercard in a report on Monday, June 23rd. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised shares of Mastercard from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, July 18th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-four have issued a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Mastercard has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $617.93.

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.