Albion Financial Group UT Grows Position in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA)

Albion Financial Group UT lifted its stake in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) by 4.0% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 866 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after buying an additional 33 shares during the quarter. Albion Financial Group UT’s holdings in Mastercard were worth $417,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of MA. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in Mastercard by 1.0% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 75,253,734 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $32,096,470,000 after purchasing an additional 742,076 shares in the last quarter. Capital International Investors raised its stake in shares of Mastercard by 3.3% in the fourth quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 21,041,685 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $8,974,478,000 after acquiring an additional 676,452 shares during the period. Capital Research Global Investors raised its stake in shares of Mastercard by 4.7% in the fourth quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 13,608,023 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $5,803,956,000 after acquiring an additional 605,909 shares during the period. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Mastercard in the fourth quarter valued at $4,595,559,000. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada raised its stake in shares of Mastercard by 1.1% in the third quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 5,314,881 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $2,104,214,000 after acquiring an additional 56,642 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 97.28% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on MA. Mizuho reduced their target price on shares of Mastercard from $480.00 to $478.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, May 2nd. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on shares of Mastercard from $490.00 to $530.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 6th. Evercore ISI reduced their target price on shares of Mastercard from $540.00 to $525.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, June 25th. Barclays reduced their target price on shares of Mastercard from $549.00 to $530.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, May 6th. Finally, Piper Sandler initiated coverage on shares of Mastercard in a report on Monday, May 13th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $531.00 price target on the stock. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-three have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Mastercard currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $496.91.

Mastercard Stock Performance

MA stock opened at $448.18 on Thursday. The firm has a market cap of $416.63 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 35.63, a PEG ratio of 1.74 and a beta of 1.09. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $450.76 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $453.63. 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 quick ratio of 1.09 and a current ratio of 1.09.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA) last released its quarterly earnings results 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 business had revenue of $6.35 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates 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% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $2.80 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts forecast that Mastercard Incorporated will post 14.26 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Mastercard Announces Dividend

The company 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 dividend of $0.66 per share. This represents a $2.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.59%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, July 9th. Mastercard’s payout ratio is 20.99%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Mastercard

In other Mastercard news, insider Sandra A. Arkell sold 300 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $447.23, for a total transaction of $134,169.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 4,063 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,817,095.49. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. In related news, major shareholder Foundation Mastercard sold 111,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, April 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $457.15, for a total value 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 accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider Sandra A. Arkell sold 300 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $447.23, for a total transaction of $134,169.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 4,063 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,817,095.49. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 3,163,228 shares of company stock valued at $1,428,540,870. 0.10% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.