Fortitude Advisory Group L.L.C. Has $594,000 Stock Holdings in Mastercard Incorporated $MA

Fortitude Advisory Group L.L.C. lessened its holdings in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) by 2.1% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,057 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after selling 23 shares during the period. Fortitude Advisory Group L.L.C.’s holdings in Mastercard were worth $594,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in MA. Kingstone Capital Partners Texas LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Mastercard during the second quarter worth approximately $11,421,213,000. Nuveen LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Mastercard during the first quarter worth approximately $4,238,764,000. Wellington Management Group LLP increased its holdings in shares of Mastercard by 38.6% during the first quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 13,526,118 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $7,413,936,000 after buying an additional 3,765,378 shares in the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. increased its holdings in shares of Mastercard by 3,493.6% during the second quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 934,110 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $524,914,000 after buying an additional 908,116 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD increased its holdings in shares of Mastercard by 4.7% during the first quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 20,096,979 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $11,015,557,000 after buying an additional 907,184 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 97.28% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have recently weighed in on MA shares. Seaport Res Ptn raised shares of Mastercard from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday, July 14th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on shares of Mastercard from $625.00 to $650.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, August 1st. Truist Financial lowered their price target on shares of Mastercard from $640.00 to $612.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, July 17th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft began coverage on shares of Mastercard in a report on Thursday, July 17th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $650.00 price target for the company. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Mastercard in a report on Friday, August 1st. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-five have issued a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $630.89.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Julius Genachowski sold 312 shares of Mastercard stock in a transaction on Monday, July 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $570.67, for a total transaction of $178,049.04. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 8,469 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,833,004.23. This trade represents a 3.55% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CFO J. Mehra Sachin sold 17,816 shares of Mastercard stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $586.89, for a total transaction of $10,456,032.24. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 31,234 shares in the company, valued at approximately $18,330,922.26. This represents a 36.32% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 35,391 shares of company stock worth $20,836,514. Insiders own 0.09% of the company’s stock.

Mastercard Price Performance

Shares of MA stock opened at $581.08 on Friday. Mastercard Incorporated has a 52-week low of $465.59 and a 52-week high of $601.77. The stock has a market cap of $525.30 billion, a PE ratio of 39.18, a PEG ratio of 2.38 and a beta of 0.97. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.41, a quick ratio of 1.16 and a current ratio of 1.16. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $580.26 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $561.85.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 31st. The credit services provider reported $4.15 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.05 by $0.10. Mastercard had a net margin of 44.93% and a return on equity of 200.01%. The firm had revenue of $8.13 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $7.95 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $3.50 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 16.8% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts forecast that Mastercard Incorporated will post 15.91 EPS for the current year.

Mastercard Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 7th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, October 9th will be paid 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 dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 20.50%.

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.