KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS Has $204.06 Million Holdings in Mastercard Incorporated $MA

KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS increased its holdings in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) by 2.2% during the second quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 363,134 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 7,800 shares during the quarter. Mastercard accounts for about 0.9% of KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 15th biggest holding. KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS’s holdings in Mastercard were worth $204,060,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Family Legacy Financial Solutions LLC purchased a new stake in Mastercard in the 2nd quarter valued at about $26,000. Flaharty Asset Management LLC purchased a new stake in Mastercard in the 1st quarter valued at about $27,000. Keystone Global Partners LLC purchased a new stake in Mastercard in the 1st quarter valued at about $31,000. Hughes Financial Services LLC purchased a new stake in Mastercard in the 1st quarter valued at about $34,000. Finally, 1 North Wealth Services LLC purchased a new stake in Mastercard in the 1st quarter valued at about $44,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 97.28% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have commented on MA. Seaport Res Ptn upgraded shares of Mastercard from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday, July 14th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Mastercard in a research note on Saturday, September 27th. Wolfe Research set a $655.00 price objective on shares of Mastercard in a research note on Monday, June 23rd. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft initiated coverage on shares of Mastercard in a research note on Thursday, July 17th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $650.00 price objective for the company. Finally, KeyCorp increased their target price on shares of Mastercard from $635.00 to $660.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, August 1st. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-five have issued a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $634.04.

Insider Buying and Selling

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 completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 31,234 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $18,330,922.26. This trade represents a 36.32% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 0.09% of the company’s stock.

Mastercard Stock Down 0.3%

Mastercard stock opened at $578.91 on Tuesday. Mastercard Incorporated has a twelve month low of $465.59 and a twelve month high of $601.77. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $580.46 and a 200-day moving average price of $562.33. The company has a market capitalization of $523.34 billion, a P/E ratio of 39.04, a P/E/G ratio of 2.38 and a beta of 0.97. The company has a quick ratio of 1.16, a current ratio of 1.16 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.41.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA) last released its earnings results on Thursday, July 31st. The credit services provider reported $4.15 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates 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 during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.95 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $3.50 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 16.8% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts predict that Mastercard Incorporated will post 15.91 EPS for the current year.

Mastercard Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 7th. Investors of record on Thursday, October 9th will be issued a $0.76 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, October 9th. This represents a $3.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.5%. Mastercard’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 20.50%.

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.