Mastercard Incorporated $MA Shares Purchased by Versant Capital Management Inc

Versant Capital Management Inc boosted its holdings in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) by 6.6% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 2,438 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 152 shares during the period. Versant Capital Management Inc’s holdings in Mastercard were worth $1,370,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in MA. Brighton Jones LLC grew its stake in Mastercard by 42.3% in the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 6,824 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $3,594,000 after acquiring an additional 2,028 shares during the last quarter. Bank Pictet & Cie Europe AG lifted its holdings in Mastercard by 11.8% in the 4th quarter. Bank Pictet & Cie Europe AG now owns 70,472 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $37,108,000 after purchasing an additional 7,452 shares in the last quarter. Mascagni Wealth Management Inc. purchased a new position in Mastercard in the 4th quarter valued at about $73,000. Trustco Bank Corp N Y purchased a new position in Mastercard in the 4th quarter valued at about $211,000. Finally, Redwood Investment Management LLC lifted its holdings in Mastercard by 58.3% in the 4th quarter. Redwood Investment Management LLC now owns 1,192 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $628,000 after purchasing an additional 439 shares in the last quarter. 97.28% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Mastercard Trading Down 1.4%

NYSE MA opened at $580.75 on Friday. Mastercard Incorporated has a one year low of $465.59 and a one year high of $601.77. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $574.60 and its 200 day moving average price is $558.33. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.41, a quick ratio of 1.16 and a current ratio of 1.16. The firm has a market capitalization of $525.00 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 39.16, a PEG ratio of 2.41 and a beta of 0.99.

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

Mastercard Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 8th. Investors of record on Wednesday, July 9th were issued a $0.76 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, July 9th. This represents a $3.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.5%. Mastercard’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 20.50%.

Insider Transactions at Mastercard

In related news, CFO J. Mehra Sachin sold 17,816 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 19th. The shares were 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 trade 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 the SEC website. Also, insider Raj Seshadri sold 1,100 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, June 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $546.77, for a total transaction of $601,447.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 12,921 shares in the company, valued at $7,064,815.17. The trade was a 7.85% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 49,094 shares of company stock valued at $26,521,861 in the last three months. 0.09% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

MA has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Mastercard from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, July 18th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on shares of Mastercard from $625.00 to $650.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, August 1st. Wolfe Research set a $655.00 price objective on shares of Mastercard in a report on Monday, June 23rd. Truist Financial cut their price objective on shares of Mastercard from $640.00 to $612.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, July 17th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Mastercard in a report on Friday, June 6th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-four have issued a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Mastercard presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $626.54.

Mastercard Profile

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.