Kowal Investment Group LLC Acquires 100 Shares of Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA)

Kowal Investment Group LLC raised its holdings in shares of Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) by 18.6% during the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 638 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 100 shares during the quarter. Kowal Investment Group LLC’s holdings in Mastercard were worth $307,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Altshuler Shaham Ltd purchased a new position in shares of Mastercard during the 4th quarter valued at $26,000. VitalStone Financial LLC grew its position in shares of Mastercard by 300.0% during the 4th quarter. VitalStone Financial LLC now owns 60 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 45 shares in the last quarter. LFA Lugano Financial Advisors SA purchased a new position in shares of Mastercard during the 4th quarter valued at $27,000. Westend Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Mastercard during the 1st quarter valued at $27,000. Finally, Scarborough Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Mastercard during the 4th quarter valued at $28,000. 97.28% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, major shareholder Foundation Mastercard sold 138,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, June 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $453.19, for a total value of $62,540,220.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 92,152,308 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $41,762,504,462.52. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. In related news, major shareholder Foundation Mastercard sold 138,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, June 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $453.19, for a total value of $62,540,220.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 92,152,308 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $41,762,504,462.52. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, insider Craig Vosburg sold 9,028 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, June 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $451.06, for a total transaction of $4,072,169.68. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 58,940 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $26,585,476.40. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 3,163,228 shares of company stock valued at $1,428,540,870 over the last three months. Corporate insiders own 0.10% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have recently commented on MA. TD Cowen began coverage on shares of Mastercard in a research report on Thursday, April 11th. They set a “buy” rating and a $545.00 price target for the company. Piper Sandler assumed coverage on shares of Mastercard in a research report on Monday, May 13th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $531.00 target price for the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their target price on shares of Mastercard from $520.00 to $510.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, May 2nd. Robert W. Baird upped their target price on shares of Mastercard from $525.00 to $545.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 18th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on shares of Mastercard from $490.00 to $530.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 6th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-three have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $496.91.

Mastercard Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:MA opened at $437.61 on Tuesday. The company has a market cap of $406.81 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.79, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.72 and a beta of 1.09. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $451.50 and a 200-day moving average price of $453.31. The company has a current ratio of 1.09, a quick ratio of 1.09 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.86. Mastercard Incorporated has a 12 month low of $359.77 and a 12 month high of $490.00.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 1st. The credit services provider reported $3.31 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.22 by $0.09. The firm had revenue of $6.35 billion during 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%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 10.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $2.80 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Mastercard Incorporated will post 14.26 EPS for the current year.

Mastercard Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 9th. Investors of record on Tuesday, July 9th will be paid a $0.66 dividend. This represents a $2.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.60%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, July 9th. Mastercard’s payout ratio is currently 20.99%.

Mastercard Company 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.