Larson Financial Group LLC Raises Stock Position in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA)

Larson Financial Group LLC grew its holdings in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) by 58.9% in the first quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 1,489 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 552 shares during the period. Larson Financial Group LLC’s holdings in Mastercard were worth $717,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in MA. Westend Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Mastercard in the 1st quarter worth about $27,000. Palisade Asset Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Mastercard in the 1st quarter worth about $27,000. VitalStone Financial LLC lifted its holdings in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 45 shares during the last quarter. Altshuler Shaham Ltd bought a new stake in shares of Mastercard in the 4th quarter worth about $26,000. Finally, LFA Lugano Financial Advisors SA bought a new stake in shares of Mastercard in the 4th quarter worth about $27,000. 97.28% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Mastercard

In related news, major shareholder Foundation Mastercard sold 109,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, April 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $462.78, for a total value of $50,443,020.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 96,996,308 shares in the company, valued at approximately $44,887,951,416.24. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other Mastercard news, insider Craig Vosburg sold 9,028 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, June 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $447.28, for a total transaction of $4,038,043.84. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 58,940 shares in the company, valued at $26,362,683.20. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, major shareholder Foundation Mastercard sold 109,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $462.78, for a total transaction of $50,443,020.00. Following the sale, the insider now owns 96,996,308 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $44,887,951,416.24. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 3,163,228 shares of company stock worth $1,428,540,870 in the last three months. Company insiders own 0.10% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. TD Cowen assumed coverage on shares of Mastercard in a report on Thursday, April 11th. They set a “buy” rating and a $545.00 price objective for the company. Evercore ISI decreased their price objective on shares of Mastercard from $540.00 to $525.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, June 25th. Bank of America lowered shares of Mastercard from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and decreased their price objective for the company from $505.00 to $480.00 in a report on Wednesday. Piper Sandler assumed coverage on shares of Mastercard in a report on Monday, May 13th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $531.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Robert W. Baird lifted their price objective on shares of Mastercard from $525.00 to $545.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, April 18th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-three have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $498.57.

Mastercard Stock Performance

NYSE:MA traded down $11.06 during trading hours on Wednesday, hitting $433.64. 4,757,228 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,472,738. The stock has a market capitalization of $403.12 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 35.35, a PEG ratio of 1.74 and a beta of 1.09. Mastercard Incorporated has a 52-week low of $359.77 and a 52-week high of $490.00. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.86, a current ratio of 1.09 and a quick ratio of 1.09. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $449.59 and its 200-day moving average price is $454.47.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, May 1st. The credit services provider reported $3.31 earnings per share 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 the consensus estimate of $6.34 billion. Mastercard had a net margin of 46.09% and a return on equity of 183.70%. Mastercard’s revenue was up 10.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $2.80 EPS. As a group, research analysts forecast that Mastercard Incorporated will post 14.26 earnings per share for the current year.

Mastercard Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 9th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, July 9th will be issued a $0.66 dividend. This represents a $2.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.61%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, July 9th. Mastercard’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 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.