Old North State Trust LLC Raises Position in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA)

Old North State Trust LLC lifted its stake in shares of Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) by 4,447.3% during the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 57,432 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 56,169 shares during the quarter. Old North State Trust LLC’s holdings in Mastercard were worth $486,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Financial Connections Group Inc. acquired a new position in Mastercard during the 4th quarter worth approximately $25,000. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL acquired a new position in shares of Mastercard during the first quarter worth $25,000. Delta Asset Management LLC TN purchased a new position in Mastercard in the fourth quarter valued at $26,000. Creative Capital Management Investments LLC acquired a new stake in Mastercard in the first quarter valued at $30,000. Finally, Quarry LP purchased a new stake in Mastercard during the 1st quarter worth about $40,000. 74.94% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CFO J. Mehra Sachin sold 10,838 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $394.38, for a total value of $4,274,290.44. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 20,707 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,166,426.66. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. In other news, CFO J. Mehra Sachin sold 10,838 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $394.38, for a total value of $4,274,290.44. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 20,707 shares in the company, valued at $8,166,426.66. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, insider Craig Vosburg sold 6,333 shares of Mastercard stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, July 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $400.00, for a total transaction of $2,533,200.00. Following the sale, the insider now owns 46,491 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $18,596,400. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 407,267 shares of company stock valued at $161,485,243. 0.13% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have recently commented on MA. Susquehanna increased their price objective on Mastercard from $433.00 to $486.00 and gave the company a “positive” rating in a report on Friday, July 28th. Credit Suisse Group raised their price objective on shares of Mastercard from $400.00 to $430.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, July 28th. Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on shares of Mastercard from $440.00 to $443.00 in a research report on Friday, July 28th. Citigroup increased their target price on shares of Mastercard from $440.00 to $455.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, July 31st. Finally, Barclays boosted their price target on shares of Mastercard from $437.00 to $470.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, July 24th. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and eighteen have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $440.96.

Mastercard Price Performance

Shares of MA traded down $0.59 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, hitting $415.68. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 300,159 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,660,027. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $400.63 and a 200 day simple moving average of $380.70. Mastercard Incorporated has a 1-year low of $276.87 and a 1-year high of $417.78. The firm has a market capitalization of $391.66 billion, a P/E ratio of 39.01, a P/E/G ratio of 1.86 and a beta of 1.10. The company has a current ratio of 1.13, a quick ratio of 1.13 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.57.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 27th. The credit services provider reported $2.89 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.84 by $0.05. The business had revenue of $6.30 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.18 billion. Mastercard had a net margin of 43.37% and a return on equity of 178.10%. The business’s revenue was up 14.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $2.56 EPS. Analysts predict that Mastercard Incorporated will post 12.13 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Mastercard Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, August 9th. Investors of record on Friday, July 7th were paid a $0.57 dividend. This represents a $2.28 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.55%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, July 6th. Mastercard’s payout ratio is currently 21.37%.

About Mastercard

Mastercard Incorporated, a technology company, provides transaction processing and other payment-related products and services in the United States and internationally. It facilitates the processing of payment transactions, including authorization, clearing, and settlement, as well as delivers other payment-related products and services.