Mastercard Incorporated $MA Shares Acquired by Welch Group LLC

Welch Group LLC lifted its position in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) by 4.5% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 21,758 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 927 shares during the period. Welch Group LLC’s holdings in Mastercard were worth $11,999,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Atlatl Advisers LLC lifted its holdings in Mastercard by 2.8% in the 3rd quarter. Atlatl Advisers LLC now owns 586 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $323,000 after purchasing an additional 16 shares in the last quarter. Foster Group Inc. grew its holdings in Mastercard by 0.9% during the 3rd quarter. Foster Group Inc. now owns 2,122 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $1,170,000 after buying an additional 18 shares in the last quarter. Shakespeare Wealth Management LLC grew its holdings in Mastercard by 3.8% during the 3rd quarter. Shakespeare Wealth Management LLC now owns 492 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $271,000 after buying an additional 18 shares in the last quarter. Bell Investment Advisors Inc raised its position in shares of Mastercard by 3.6% during the third quarter. Bell Investment Advisors Inc now owns 513 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $283,000 after buying an additional 18 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Athena Wealth Management LLC raised its position in shares of Mastercard by 3.8% during the second quarter. Athena Wealth Management LLC now owns 514 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $264,000 after buying an additional 19 shares during the last quarter. 97.28% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have recently commented on MA shares. Rothschild & Co Redburn lowered their target price on Mastercard from $710.00 to $688.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, September 2nd. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price target on shares of Mastercard from $685.00 to $750.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday. BMO Capital Markets reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $665.00 price target on shares of Mastercard in a research note on Thursday, October 15th. President Capital increased their price objective on shares of Mastercard from $693.00 to $729.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, August 17th. Finally, TD Cowen increased their price objective on shares of Mastercard from $667.00 to $726.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty have issued a Buy rating, one has issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $702.91.

Insider Activity at Mastercard

In other news, CFO Ling Hai sold 4,317 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, October 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $620.00, for a total value of $2,676,540.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 35,750 shares in the company, valued at $22,165,000. This represents a 10.77% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, Director Julius Genachowski sold 370 shares of Mastercard stock in a transaction dated Monday, October 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $590.21, for a total transaction of $218,377.70. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 8,237 shares in the company, valued at $4,861,559.77. This trade represents a 4.30% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders have sold a total of 39,420 shares of company stock worth $22,882,963 over the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 0.09% of the company’s stock.

Mastercard Price Performance

Shares of MA stock opened at $638.50 on Monday. Mastercard Incorporated has a 1-year low of $464.52 and a 1-year high of $644.24. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $586.79 and its 200 day moving average is $536.21. The company has a market cap of $559.33 billion, a P/E ratio of 33.39, a PEG ratio of 1.81 and a beta of 0.78. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.29, a current ratio of 1.01 and a quick ratio of 1.01.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 29th. The credit services provider reported $5.31 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $5.17 by $0.14. Mastercard had a net margin of 46.73% and a return on equity of 260.86%. The business had revenue of $9.81 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $9.66 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $4.38 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 14.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts predict that Mastercard Incorporated will post 19.96 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Mastercard Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, November 9th. Shareholders of record on Friday, October 9th will be issued a $0.87 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, October 9th. This represents a $3.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.5%. Mastercard’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 18.20%.

About Mastercard

Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE: MA) is a global payments technology company that operates a network connecting consumers, financial institutions, merchants, governments and businesses. The company facilitates electronic payments and provides technology that supports transactions conducted through credit, debit, prepaid and commercial payment products.

In addition to operating its payments network, Mastercard offers services in areas such as payment security, fraud prevention, authentication, cybersecurity, data and analytics, loyalty programs, digital identity and open banking.