Independent Financial Group LLC Makes New $2.72 Million Investment in Mastercard Incorporated $MA

Independent Financial Group LLC bought a new stake in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 5,447 shares of the credit services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $2,722,000.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. E Fund Management Hong Kong Co. Ltd. boosted its stake in Mastercard by 820.0% in the fourth quarter. E Fund Management Hong Kong Co. Ltd. now owns 46 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $26,000 after acquiring an additional 41 shares in the last quarter. Strive Financial Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Mastercard in the 4th quarter valued at about $27,000. Hyposwiss Advisors SA acquired a new stake in shares of Mastercard in the 4th quarter valued at about $29,000. First Pacific Financial boosted its position in shares of Mastercard by 113.8% in the 1st quarter. First Pacific Financial now owns 62 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $31,000 after purchasing an additional 33 shares during the period. Finally, Bay Harbor Wealth Management LLC grew its stake in Mastercard by 54.1% during the 4th quarter. Bay Harbor Wealth Management LLC now owns 57 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $33,000 after buying an additional 20 shares during the last quarter. 97.28% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Mastercard Stock Down 1.4%

MA opened at $543.55 on Friday. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $503.99 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $516.23. The company has a quick ratio of 0.98, a current ratio of 0.98 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.56. The company has a market cap of $480.27 billion, a PE ratio of 31.46, a P/E/G ratio of 1.69 and a beta of 0.73. Mastercard Incorporated has a 52 week low of $464.52 and a 52 week high of $601.77.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 30th. The credit services provider reported $4.60 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.41 by $0.19. The company had revenue of $8.40 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $8.26 billion. Mastercard had a return on equity of 212.96% and a net margin of 45.88%.The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 15.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm earned $3.73 EPS. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Mastercard Incorporated will post 19.62 EPS for the current year.

Mastercard Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 7th. Investors of record on Thursday, July 9th will be issued a dividend of $0.87 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, July 9th. This represents a $3.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.6%. Mastercard’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 20.14%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

MA has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $679.00 price target on shares of Mastercard in a research report on Friday, May 1st. Susquehanna decreased their price objective on Mastercard from $670.00 to $665.00 and set a “positive” rating for the company in a report on Friday, May 1st. UBS Group restated a “buy” rating on shares of Mastercard in a research report on Thursday, June 25th. Weiss Ratings cut shares of Mastercard from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a report on Friday, April 24th. Finally, Loop Capital reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $631.00 price target on shares of Mastercard in a research report on Wednesday, June 3rd. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty have given a Buy rating, one has assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $653.92.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Sandra A. Arkell sold 200 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, July 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $540.00, for a total value of $108,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 3,322 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,793,880. This trade represents a 5.68% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, insider Raj Seshadri sold 4,828 shares of Mastercard stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, July 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $525.00, for a total transaction of $2,534,700.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 16,429 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,625,225. The trade was a 22.71% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 7,005 shares of company stock worth $3,689,976. 0.09% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

About Mastercard

Mastercard Incorporated is a global payments technology company that operates a network connecting consumers, financial institutions, merchants, governments and businesses in more than 200 countries and territories. The company facilitates electronic payments and transaction processing for credit, debit and prepaid card products carrying the Mastercard brand, while also providing a range of payment-related services to issuers, acquirers and merchants. Its technology and network enable authorization, clearing and settlement of payments and support a broad set of use cases including point-of-sale, e-commerce and mobile payments.

Beyond core transaction processing, Mastercard offers a suite of value-added services such as fraud and risk management, identity and authentication tools, tokenization and digital wallet support, cross-border and commercial payment solutions, and data analytics and consulting services for merchants and financial partners.