Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) Shares Bought by Farmers & Merchants Investments Inc.

Farmers & Merchants Investments Inc. raised its holdings in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) by 0.6% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 6,445 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 41 shares during the period. Farmers & Merchants Investments Inc.’s holdings in Mastercard were worth $3,104,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of MA. Altshuler Shaham Ltd acquired a new stake in shares of Mastercard during the 4th quarter worth $26,000. VitalStone Financial LLC boosted its position in Mastercard by 300.0% in the 4th quarter. VitalStone Financial LLC now owns 60 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $26,000 after buying an additional 45 shares during the last quarter. LFA Lugano Financial Advisors SA purchased a new position in Mastercard in the 4th quarter valued at about $27,000. Westend Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in Mastercard in the 1st quarter valued at about $27,000. Finally, Scarborough Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Mastercard during the fourth quarter worth about $28,000. 97.28% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity

In other news, major shareholder Foundation Mastercard sold 111,000 shares of Mastercard stock in a transaction dated Thursday, April 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $457.15, for a total transaction of $50,743,650.00. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 97,432,308 shares in the company, valued at approximately $44,541,179,602.20. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. In related news, major shareholder Foundation Mastercard sold 111,000 shares of Mastercard stock in a transaction dated Thursday, April 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $457.15, for a total transaction of $50,743,650.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 97,432,308 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $44,541,179,602.20. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Sandra A. Arkell sold 300 shares of Mastercard stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $454.00, for a total transaction of $136,200.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 3,463 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,572,202. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 3,163,228 shares of company stock worth $1,428,540,870. Corporate insiders own 0.10% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have recently commented on MA. Piper Sandler started coverage on shares of Mastercard in a research report on Monday, May 13th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $531.00 price target on the stock. Morgan Stanley decreased their price objective on shares of Mastercard from $536.00 to $524.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, May 2nd. Susquehanna reiterated a “positive” rating and issued a $535.00 price objective on shares of Mastercard in a report on Wednesday, April 3rd. Evercore ISI reduced their target price 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. Finally, Mizuho decreased their price objective on shares of Mastercard from $480.00 to $478.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, May 2nd. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-three have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $496.91.

Mastercard Stock Performance

Shares of MA opened at $444.65 on Wednesday. The company has a market capitalization of $413.35 billion, a PE ratio of 35.35, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.72 and a beta of 1.09. Mastercard Incorporated has a one year low of $359.77 and a one year 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 fifty day moving average price is $451.12 and its 200 day moving average price is $453.44.

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 firm 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%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 10.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $2.80 EPS. As a group, analysts expect that Mastercard Incorporated will post 14.26 earnings per share for the current year.

Mastercard Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 9th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, July 9th will be given a $0.66 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, July 9th. This represents a $2.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.59%. Mastercard’s dividend payout ratio is 20.99%.

Mastercard 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.