IFP Advisors Inc Acquires 2,418 Shares of Mastercard Incorporated $MA

IFP Advisors Inc increased its holdings in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) by 12.6% in the second quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 21,615 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 2,418 shares during the quarter. IFP Advisors Inc’s holdings in Mastercard were worth $11,101,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Robinswood Financial LLC bought a new position in Mastercard in the 1st quarter worth $25,000. E Fund Management Hong Kong Co. Ltd. boosted its stake in shares of Mastercard by 820.0% during the 4th quarter. E Fund Management Hong Kong Co. Ltd. now owns 46 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 41 shares in the last quarter. Strive Financial Group LLC bought a new stake in shares of Mastercard during the 4th quarter valued at about $27,000. Hyposwiss Advisors SA purchased a new position in shares of Mastercard during the fourth quarter valued at about $29,000. Finally, First Pacific Financial increased its position in shares of Mastercard by 113.8% during the first quarter. First Pacific Financial now owns 62 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $31,000 after buying an additional 33 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 97.28% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In other Mastercard news, insider Linda Kirkpatrick sold 4,280 shares of Mastercard stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $570.31, for a total value of $2,440,926.80. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 31,179 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $17,781,695.49. The trade was a 12.07% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, insider Raj Seshadri sold 4,828 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, July 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $525.00, for a total transaction of $2,534,700.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 16,429 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,625,225. This represents a 22.71% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 74,623 shares of company stock worth $42,544,606. 0.09% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have commented on MA shares. Dbs Bank upgraded shares of Mastercard to a “moderate buy” rating in a report on Friday, August 21st. Morgan Stanley increased their target price on Mastercard from $679.00 to $681.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, July 31st. The Goldman Sachs Group restated a “buy” rating and set a $701.00 price target on shares of Mastercard in a research report on Thursday, July 30th. TD Cowen upped their price target on Mastercard from $664.00 to $667.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, July 31st. Finally, Barclays raised their price objective on Mastercard from $640.00 to $660.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, July 31st. Five analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-five have given a Buy rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $666.64.

Mastercard Stock Down 1.5%

MA stock opened at $570.35 on Wednesday. The business has a 50 day moving average of $561.02 and a 200 day moving average of $522.20. The firm has a market cap of $499.63 billion, a PE ratio of 31.37, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.66 and a beta of 0.74. Mastercard Incorporated has a twelve month low of $464.52 and a twelve month high of $601.62. The company has a quick ratio of 1.06, a current ratio of 1.06 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.96.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA) last released its earnings results on Thursday, July 30th. The credit services provider reported $5.04 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $4.77 by $0.27. Mastercard had a return on equity of 239.99% and a net margin of 46.34%.The business had revenue of $9.28 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $9.08 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $4.15 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 14.1% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts forecast that Mastercard Incorporated will post 19.86 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Mastercard Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 7th. Investors of record on Thursday, July 9th were paid a $0.87 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, July 9th. This represents a $3.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.6%. Mastercard’s payout ratio is presently 19.14%.

Mastercard Profile

Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE: MA) is a global technology company that operates a payments network connecting consumers, financial institutions, merchants, governments and businesses. The company facilitates electronic payment transactions, including credit, debit, prepaid and commercial payments, by providing the infrastructure used to authorize, clear and settle transactions.

Mastercard’s products and services include its Mastercard-branded payment cards, digital payment tools, contactless payment technology and payment solutions for businesses and governments.