Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. Purchases 219 Shares of Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA)

Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. lifted its position in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) by 1.7% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 13,208 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after buying an additional 219 shares during the quarter. Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc.’s holdings in Mastercard were worth $6,361,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Westend Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in Mastercard in the 1st quarter worth approximately $27,000. VitalStone Financial LLC lifted its holdings in Mastercard by 300.0% in the 4th quarter. VitalStone Financial LLC now owns 60 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 45 shares during the last quarter. Altshuler Shaham Ltd acquired a new stake in Mastercard in the 4th quarter worth approximately $26,000. LFA Lugano Financial Advisors SA acquired a new stake in Mastercard in the 4th quarter worth approximately $27,000. Finally, Scarborough Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Mastercard in the 4th quarter worth approximately $28,000. Institutional investors own 97.28% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have recently commented on MA. Susquehanna reiterated a “positive” rating and set a $535.00 price target on shares of Mastercard in a report on Wednesday, April 3rd. Barclays cut their price target on Mastercard from $549.00 to $530.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Monday, May 6th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price target on Mastercard from $520.00 to $510.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, May 2nd. Mizuho cut their price target on Mastercard from $480.00 to $478.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, May 2nd. Finally, TD Cowen began coverage on Mastercard in a report on Thursday, April 11th. They set a “buy” rating and a $545.00 price target for the company. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-three have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Mastercard presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $496.91.

Insider Transactions at Mastercard

In other news, major shareholder Foundation Mastercard sold 111,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, April 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $457.15, for a total transaction of $50,743,650.00. Following the sale, the insider now owns 97,432,308 shares in the company, valued at $44,541,179,602.20. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In related news, major shareholder Foundation Mastercard sold 111,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, April 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $457.15, for a total value of $50,743,650.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 97,432,308 shares in the company, valued at $44,541,179,602.20. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider Sandra A. Arkell sold 300 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $447.23, for a total value of $134,169.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 4,063 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,817,095.49. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 3,163,228 shares of company stock worth $1,428,540,870. Insiders own 0.10% of the company’s stock.

Mastercard Price Performance

NYSE:MA traded down $1.59 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $441.16. The company had a trading volume of 4,105,179 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,467,253. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $451.50 and a two-hundred day moving average of $452.88. Mastercard Incorporated has a one year low of $359.77 and a one year high of $490.00. The firm has a market capitalization of $410.11 billion, a PE ratio of 35.06, a PEG ratio of 1.73 and a beta of 1.09. The company has a quick ratio of 1.09, a current ratio of 1.09 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.86.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, May 1st. The credit services provider reported $3.31 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.22 by $0.09. The company had revenue of $6.35 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.34 billion. Mastercard had a return on equity of 183.70% and a net margin of 46.09%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 10.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $2.80 earnings per share. Analysts forecast that Mastercard Incorporated will post 14.26 earnings per share for the current year.

Mastercard Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 9th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, July 9th will be issued a dividend of $0.66 per share. This represents a $2.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.60%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, July 9th. Mastercard’s payout ratio is presently 20.99%.

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.