PFG Investments LLC Increases Stock Position in Mastercard Incorporated $MA

PFG Investments LLC increased its stake in shares of Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) by 5.0% in the second quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 8,476 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 404 shares during the period. PFG Investments LLC’s holdings in Mastercard were worth $4,763,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of MA. Kingstone Capital Partners Texas LLC purchased a new position in shares of Mastercard during the second quarter worth $11,421,213,000. Nuveen LLC purchased a new position in Mastercard during the 1st quarter valued at about $4,238,764,000. Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its holdings in Mastercard by 38.6% during the 1st quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 13,526,118 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $7,413,936,000 after acquiring an additional 3,765,378 shares during the period. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. boosted its holdings in Mastercard by 3,493.6% during the 2nd quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 934,110 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $524,914,000 after acquiring an additional 908,116 shares during the period. Finally, Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD boosted its stake in shares of Mastercard by 4.7% in the first quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 20,096,979 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $11,015,557,000 after purchasing an additional 907,184 shares during the period. 97.28% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Mastercard Price Performance

MA stock opened at $569.29 on Wednesday. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $579.48 and a 200 day moving average price of $560.91. The stock has a market cap of $514.64 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 38.39, a PEG ratio of 2.33 and a beta of 0.99. Mastercard Incorporated has a fifty-two week low of $465.59 and a fifty-two week high of $601.77. The company has a quick ratio of 1.16, a current ratio of 1.16 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.41.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 31st. The credit services provider reported $4.15 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $4.05 by $0.10. The business had revenue of $8.13 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.95 billion. Mastercard had a net margin of 44.93% and a return on equity of 200.01%. The company’s revenue was up 16.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $3.50 EPS. 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 will be paid on Friday, November 7th. Investors of record on Thursday, October 9th will be given a $0.76 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, October 9th. This represents a $3.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.5%. Mastercard’s payout ratio is 20.50%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CFO J. Mehra Sachin sold 17,263 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, September 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $591.00, for a total value of $10,202,433.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 31,234 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $18,459,294. The trade was a 35.60% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Julius Genachowski sold 312 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $570.67, for a total value of $178,049.04. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 8,469 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,833,004.23. The trade was a 3.55% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders sold 35,391 shares of company stock valued at $20,836,514. 0.09% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have recently commented on MA. Truist Financial lowered their price objective on shares of Mastercard from $640.00 to $612.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, July 17th. Morgan Stanley raised their price target on shares of Mastercard from $639.00 to $661.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, August 1st. The Goldman Sachs Group reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Mastercard in a report on Friday, August 1st. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on Mastercard from $625.00 to $650.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, August 1st. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft began coverage on Mastercard in a report on Thursday, July 17th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $650.00 target price for the company. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-four have assigned a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $630.89.

Mastercard Company 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.