Andra AP fonden Grows Stake in Mastercard Incorporated $MA

Andra AP fonden grew its position in shares of Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) by 10.7% during the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 139,489 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after buying an additional 13,428 shares during the period. Mastercard accounts for 0.9% of Andra AP fonden’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 13th largest position. Andra AP fonden’s holdings in Mastercard were worth $69,697,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. E Fund Management Hong Kong Co. Ltd. grew its stake in Mastercard by 820.0% during the fourth quarter. E Fund Management Hong Kong Co. Ltd. now owns 46 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $26,000 after acquiring an additional 41 shares in the last quarter. Strive Financial Group LLC purchased a new stake in Mastercard in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Hyposwiss Advisors SA bought a new stake in Mastercard during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $29,000. First Pacific Financial lifted its position in 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 purchasing an additional 33 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bay Harbor Wealth Management LLC grew its position in Mastercard by 54.1% in the fourth quarter. Bay Harbor Wealth Management LLC now owns 57 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $33,000 after acquiring an additional 20 shares in the last quarter. 97.28% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Mastercard Price Performance

MA opened at $547.58 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.56, a quick ratio of 0.98 and a current ratio of 0.98. The stock has a market capitalization of $483.83 billion, a PE ratio of 31.69, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.70 and a beta of 0.73. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $504.99 and its 200-day moving average price is $515.59. Mastercard Incorporated has a 52-week low of $464.52 and a 52-week high of $601.77.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 30th. The credit services provider reported $4.60 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.41 by $0.19. The company had revenue of $8.40 billion during 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 firm’s revenue was up 15.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $3.73 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts predict that Mastercard Incorporated will post 19.62 EPS for the current year.

Mastercard Dividend Announcement

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

MA has been the topic of a number of research reports. Royal Bank Of Canada decreased their price objective on Mastercard from $656.00 to $629.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, May 1st. Barclays started coverage on shares of Mastercard in a research report on Wednesday, July 8th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $640.00 target price on the stock. BMO Capital Markets initiated coverage on Mastercard in a research note on Tuesday, April 21st. They set an “outperform” rating and a $605.00 price objective on the stock. Susquehanna reduced their price target on Mastercard from $670.00 to $665.00 and set a “positive” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, May 1st. Finally, Piper Sandler started coverage on Mastercard in a research note on Monday, June 29th. They issued 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 issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $653.92.

Insider Activity

In other Mastercard news, insider Sandra A. Arkell sold 200 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, July 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $540.00, for a total transaction of $108,000.00. Following the transaction, the insider owned 3,322 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,793,880. This represents a 5.68% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible 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 stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 16,429 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,702,934.17. This represents a 10.74% 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. Insiders sold 7,005 shares of company stock valued at $3,689,976 over the last 90 days. 0.09% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Mastercard Company Profile

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.