Mastercard Incorporated $MA Position Increased by Quent Capital LLC

Quent Capital LLC raised its position in shares of Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) by 3.5% in the second quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 4,448 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after buying an additional 149 shares during the period. Quent Capital LLC’s holdings in Mastercard were worth $2,500,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of MA. Brighton Jones LLC lifted its stake in Mastercard by 42.3% during the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 6,824 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $3,594,000 after buying an additional 2,028 shares in the last quarter. Apella Capital LLC purchased a new stake in Mastercard during the first quarter valued at about $337,000. Matrix Trust Co lifted its stake in Mastercard by 35.6% during the first quarter. Matrix Trust Co now owns 411 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $225,000 after buying an additional 108 shares in the last quarter. Breakwater Capital Group lifted its stake in Mastercard by 6.3% during the first quarter. Breakwater Capital Group now owns 1,142 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $626,000 after buying an additional 68 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Annex Advisory Services LLC lifted its stake in Mastercard by 18.8% during the first quarter. Annex Advisory Services LLC now owns 1,615 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $885,000 after buying an additional 256 shares in the last quarter. 97.28% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CFO J. Mehra Sachin sold 17,816 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $586.89, for a total value of $10,456,032.24. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 31,234 shares in the company, valued at approximately $18,330,922.26. This represents a 36.32% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Julius Genachowski sold 312 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, July 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $570.67, for a total value of $178,049.04. Following the transaction, the director owned 8,469 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,833,004.23. This trade represents a 3.55% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 35,391 shares of company stock worth $20,836,514 in the last 90 days. 0.09% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Mastercard Trading Up 0.6%

NYSE:MA opened at $581.08 on Friday. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $580.26 and its 200 day moving average price is $561.67. Mastercard Incorporated has a 52 week low of $465.59 and a 52 week high of $601.77. The company has a market capitalization of $525.30 billion, a P/E ratio of 39.18, a P/E/G ratio of 2.37 and a beta of 0.97. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.41, a quick ratio of 1.16 and a current ratio of 1.16.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 31st. The credit services provider reported $4.15 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.05 by $0.10. Mastercard had a return on equity of 200.01% and a net margin of 44.93%.The firm had revenue of $8.13 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.95 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $3.50 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 16.8% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts forecast that Mastercard Incorporated will post 15.91 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Mastercard Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 7th. Investors of record on Thursday, October 9th will be issued a $0.76 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, October 9th. This represents a $3.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.5%. Mastercard’s dividend payout ratio is currently 20.50%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. TD Cowen reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $645.00 price target on shares of Mastercard in a research report on Monday, August 11th. Wolfe Research set a $655.00 price target on shares of Mastercard in a research report on Monday, June 23rd. KeyCorp increased their price target on shares of Mastercard from $635.00 to $660.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, August 1st. Morgan Stanley increased their price target on shares of Mastercard from $639.00 to $661.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, August 1st. Finally, Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Mastercard in a research report on Saturday, September 27th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-five have issued a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $630.89.

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.