Bridgewater Advisors Inc. Raises Stock Position in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA)

Bridgewater Advisors Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) by 1.8% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 13,973 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after buying an additional 252 shares during the quarter. Bridgewater Advisors Inc.’s holdings in Mastercard were worth $7,541,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. BlackDiamond Wealth Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Mastercard by 2.3% in the fourth quarter. BlackDiamond Wealth Management LLC now owns 846 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $445,000 after acquiring an additional 19 shares during the period. Fi3 FINANCIAL ADVISORS LLC lifted its holdings in Mastercard by 2.6% in the 4th quarter. Fi3 FINANCIAL ADVISORS LLC now owns 736 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $388,000 after purchasing an additional 19 shares in the last quarter. Strategy Asset Managers LLC boosted its stake in Mastercard by 2.1% in the 4th quarter. Strategy Asset Managers LLC now owns 911 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $480,000 after purchasing an additional 19 shares during the period. Phillips Wealth Planners LLC grew its holdings in Mastercard by 1.8% during the 1st quarter. Phillips Wealth Planners LLC now owns 1,055 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $538,000 after buying an additional 19 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Alta Wealth Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Mastercard by 3.6% during the first quarter. Alta Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 540 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $296,000 after buying an additional 19 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 97.28% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Mastercard

In other news, insider Craig Vosburg sold 14,051 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, June 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $585.05, for a total value of $8,220,537.55. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 58,451 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $34,196,757.55. This trade represents a 19.38% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, insider Raj Seshadri sold 1,100 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, June 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $546.77, for a total transaction of $601,447.00. Following the sale, the insider owned 12,921 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,064,815.17. The trade was a 7.85% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 38,753 shares of company stock valued at $20,351,084. 0.09% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Mastercard Price Performance

Shares of MA opened at $553.12 on Tuesday. Mastercard Incorporated has a fifty-two week low of $428.86 and a fifty-two week high of $594.71. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $568.26 and a 200-day moving average price of $547.98. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.81, a quick ratio of 1.11 and a current ratio of 1.11. The stock has a market capitalization of $504.28 billion, a PE ratio of 38.79, a PEG ratio of 2.39 and a beta of 1.02.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 1st. The credit services provider reported $3.73 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.57 by $0.16. Mastercard had a net margin of 45.21% and a return on equity of 196.87%. The business had revenue of $7.25 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.12 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $3.31 EPS. Mastercard’s revenue for the quarter was up 14.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts predict that Mastercard Incorporated will post 15.91 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Mastercard Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 8th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, July 9th will be issued a dividend of $0.76 per share. This represents a $3.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.55%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, July 9th. Mastercard’s payout ratio is 21.32%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on MA shares. The Goldman Sachs Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $633.00 target price on shares of Mastercard in a research note on Wednesday, April 2nd. Wolfe Research set a $655.00 price target on shares of Mastercard in a report on Monday, June 23rd. KeyCorp lifted their price target on shares of Mastercard from $630.00 to $635.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, May 2nd. Seaport Res Ptn upgraded shares of Mastercard from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday. Finally, Citigroup lifted their price target on shares of Mastercard from $650.00 to $652.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, May 5th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-four have assigned a buy rating and three have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Mastercard has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $611.50.

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.