Kowal Investment Group LLC Buys 28 Shares of Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA)

Kowal Investment Group LLC increased its stake in shares of Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) by 4.4% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 666 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after buying an additional 28 shares during the period. Kowal Investment Group LLC’s holdings in Mastercard were worth $294,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Hoxton Planning & Management LLC grew its position in Mastercard by 1.4% during the first quarter. Hoxton Planning & Management LLC now owns 1,637 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $788,000 after buying an additional 22 shares during the period. Quilter Plc grew its position in Mastercard by 2.8% during the second quarter. Quilter Plc now owns 801 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $353,000 after buying an additional 22 shares during the period. Carolinas Wealth Consulting LLC grew its position in Mastercard by 5.0% during the fourth quarter. Carolinas Wealth Consulting LLC now owns 484 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $206,000 after buying an additional 23 shares during the period. Benin Management CORP grew its position in Mastercard by 3.0% during the first quarter. Benin Management CORP now owns 794 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $382,000 after buying an additional 23 shares during the period. Finally, Atticus Wealth Management LLC grew its position in Mastercard by 1.3% during the first quarter. Atticus Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,734 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $835,000 after buying an additional 23 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 97.28% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Barclays increased their price target on shares of Mastercard from $530.00 to $536.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, August 5th. Piper Sandler increased their price target on shares of Mastercard from $531.00 to $536.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, August 2nd. William Blair upgraded shares of Mastercard to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 31st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on shares of Mastercard from $500.00 to $570.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 20th. Finally, Susquehanna increased their target price on shares of Mastercard from $535.00 to $540.00 and gave the stock a “positive” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 1st. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-one have given a buy rating and three have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $512.08.

Insider Activity at Mastercard

In related news, major shareholder Foundation Mastercard sold 131,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $459.46, for a total value of $60,189,260.00. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 92,426,308 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $42,466,191,473.68. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In other Mastercard news, major shareholder Foundation Mastercard sold 131,000 shares of Mastercard stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $459.46, for a total transaction of $60,189,260.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 92,426,308 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $42,466,191,473.68. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CMO Venkata R. Madabhushi sold 4,685 shares of Mastercard stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, September 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $493.10, for a total transaction of $2,310,173.50. Following the transaction, the chief marketing officer now directly owns 17,118 shares in the company, valued at $8,440,885.80. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 605,124 shares of company stock valued at $280,045,189 over the last three months. 0.10% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Mastercard Trading Down 0.1 %

Shares of MA opened at $492.74 on Friday. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $466.24 and its 200 day simple moving average is $461.11. The company has a market capitalization of $458.06 billion, a P/E ratio of 39.17, a P/E/G ratio of 1.92 and a beta of 1.10. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.95, a current ratio of 1.14 and a quick ratio of 1.14. Mastercard Incorporated has a 1-year low of $359.77 and a 1-year high of $501.80.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, July 31st. The credit services provider reported $3.59 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.51 by $0.08. The business had revenue of $6.96 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.85 billion. Mastercard had a net margin of 46.45% and a return on equity of 179.78%. Sell-side analysts forecast that Mastercard Incorporated will post 14.29 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Mastercard Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 8th. Investors of record on Wednesday, October 9th will be paid a $0.66 dividend. This represents a $2.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.54%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, October 9th. Mastercard’s dividend payout ratio 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.