Spartan Wealth Advisory Services LLC Makes New $4.08 Million Investment in Mastercard Incorporated $MA

Spartan Wealth Advisory Services LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) in the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm purchased 8,171 shares of the credit services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $4,083,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Riggs Asset Managment Co. Inc. boosted its position in shares of Mastercard by 20.0% during the 2nd quarter. Riggs Asset Managment Co. Inc. now owns 108 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $61,000 after purchasing an additional 18 shares during the period. Affinity Capital Advisors LLC raised its position in Mastercard by 0.7% in the fourth quarter. Affinity Capital Advisors LLC now owns 2,939 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $1,678,000 after purchasing an additional 19 shares during the period. Abacus Planning Group Inc. raised its position in Mastercard by 3.3% in the fourth quarter. Abacus Planning Group Inc. now owns 590 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $337,000 after purchasing an additional 19 shares during the period. Thomasville National Bank lifted its stake in Mastercard by 4.1% during the fourth quarter. Thomasville National Bank now owns 479 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $273,000 after purchasing an additional 19 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Castle Rock Wealth Management LLC lifted its stake in Mastercard by 2.8% during the fourth quarter. Castle Rock Wealth Management LLC now owns 695 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $387,000 after purchasing an additional 19 shares in the last quarter. 97.28% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Sandra A. Arkell sold 200 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $540.00, for a total transaction of $108,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 3,322 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,793,880. The trade was a 5.68% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, insider Raj Seshadri sold 1,977 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, July 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $529.73, for a total value of $1,047,276.21. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 16,429 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,702,934.17. This represents a 10.74% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 7,005 shares of company stock worth $3,689,976. 0.09% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Mastercard Stock Performance

Shares of MA stock opened at $543.55 on Friday. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $503.99 and a two-hundred day moving average of $516.23. The stock has a market capitalization of $480.27 billion, a PE ratio of 31.46, a P/E/G ratio of 1.69 and a beta of 0.73. The company has a quick ratio of 0.98, a current ratio of 0.98 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.56. 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 business had revenue of $8.40 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $8.26 billion. Mastercard had a return on equity of 212.96% and a net margin of 45.88%.The company’s revenue was up 15.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $3.73 earnings per share. On average, research analysts predict that Mastercard Incorporated will post 19.62 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Mastercard Announces Dividend

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have recently weighed in on MA. Wall Street Zen cut Mastercard from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, May 2nd. BMO Capital Markets started coverage on Mastercard in a research note on Tuesday, April 21st. They set an “outperform” rating and a $605.00 target price on the stock. Clear Str upgraded Mastercard to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Thursday. Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and issued a $679.00 target price on shares of Mastercard in a research report on Friday, May 1st. Finally, Piper Sandler started coverage on shares of Mastercard in a research note on Monday, June 29th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $597.00 price target on the stock. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty have given a Buy rating, one has given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $653.92.

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.