Ascentis Independent Advisors Purchases 2,202 Shares of Mastercard Incorporated $MA

Ascentis Independent Advisors increased its position in shares of Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) by 90.2% in the 1st quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 4,642 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 2,202 shares during the quarter. Ascentis Independent Advisors’ holdings in Mastercard were worth $2,320,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in MA. E Fund Management Hong Kong Co. Ltd. boosted its position in shares of Mastercard by 820.0% in the fourth quarter. E Fund Management Hong Kong Co. Ltd. now owns 46 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $26,000 after acquiring an additional 41 shares during the period. Strive Financial Group LLC acquired a new stake in Mastercard in the 4th quarter worth about $27,000. Hyposwiss Advisors SA acquired a new stake in Mastercard in the 4th quarter worth about $29,000. First Pacific Financial boosted its holdings in Mastercard by 113.8% in the 1st quarter. First Pacific Financial now owns 62 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $31,000 after purchasing an additional 33 shares during the period. Finally, Bay Harbor Wealth Management LLC grew its position in shares of Mastercard by 54.1% during the 4th quarter. Bay Harbor Wealth Management LLC now owns 57 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $33,000 after purchasing an additional 20 shares in the last quarter. 97.28% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have recently commented on the stock. Robert W. Baird raised their target price on shares of Mastercard from $660.00 to $680.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday. Citigroup lowered their price objective on Mastercard from $735.00 to $675.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, April 14th. BMO Capital Markets began coverage on Mastercard in a report on Tuesday, April 21st. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $605.00 price objective for the company. BNP Paribas Exane upgraded Mastercard from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $600.00 target price for the company in a research report on Thursday, March 19th. Finally, Wolfe Research reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of Mastercard in a report on Tuesday, March 17th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-one have given a Buy rating, one has issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $654.58.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Mastercard news, insider Raj Seshadri sold 1,977 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, July 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $529.73, for a total value of $1,047,276.21. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 16,429 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,702,934.17. This represents a 10.74% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. 0.09% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Mastercard Stock Down 1.1%

Shares of NYSE:MA opened at $533.39 on Tuesday. Mastercard Incorporated has a 52-week low of $464.52 and a 52-week high of $601.77. The company has a market capitalization of $471.29 billion, a PE ratio of 30.87, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.68 and a beta of 0.73. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.56, a quick ratio of 0.98 and a current ratio of 0.98. The company has a fifty day moving average of $497.92 and a 200-day moving average of $518.61.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 30th. The credit services provider reported $4.60 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $4.41 by $0.19. Mastercard had a return on equity of 212.96% and a net margin of 45.88%.The company had revenue of $8.40 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $8.26 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $3.73 EPS. Mastercard’s revenue for the quarter was up 15.8% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts predict that Mastercard Incorporated will post 19.61 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Mastercard Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 7th. Investors of record on Thursday, July 9th will be issued a $0.87 dividend. This represents a $3.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.7%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, July 9th. Mastercard’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 20.14%.

About Mastercard

Mastercard Incorporated is a global payments technology company that operates a network connecting consumers, financial institutions, merchants, governments and businesses in more than 200 countries and territories. The company facilitates electronic payments and transaction processing for credit, debit and prepaid card products carrying the Mastercard brand, while also providing a range of payment-related services to issuers, acquirers and merchants. Its technology and network enable authorization, clearing and settlement of payments and support a broad set of use cases including point-of-sale, e-commerce and mobile payments.

Beyond core transaction processing, Mastercard offers a suite of value-added services such as fraud and risk management, identity and authentication tools, tokenization and digital wallet support, cross-border and commercial payment solutions, and data analytics and consulting services for merchants and financial partners.