LifeSteps Financial Inc. Has $610,000 Holdings in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA)

LifeSteps Financial Inc. raised its position in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) by 5.2% in the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 1,112 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 55 shares during the period. LifeSteps Financial Inc.’s holdings in Mastercard were worth $610,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Mastercard by 0.5% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 77,179,138 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $40,640,219,000 after purchasing an additional 377,302 shares in the last quarter. FMR LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Mastercard by 4.3% in the fourth quarter. FMR LLC now owns 22,267,937 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $11,725,627,000 after purchasing an additional 912,856 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Mastercard by 1.5% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 18,657,792 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $9,800,202,000 after purchasing an additional 282,739 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of Mastercard in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $6,022,224,000. Finally, Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its holdings in shares of Mastercard by 9.1% in the fourth quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 9,760,740 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $5,139,713,000 after purchasing an additional 817,836 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 97.28% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Sandra A. Arkell sold 150 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $569.45, for a total transaction of $85,417.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 3,555 shares in the company, valued at $2,024,394.75. The trade was a 4.05% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider Raj Seshadri sold 949 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, June 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $535.80, for a total value of $508,474.20. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 14,021 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,512,451.80. The trade was a 6.34% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders sold 35,115 shares of company stock worth $18,324,718. 0.09% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Mastercard Price Performance

Shares of NYSE MA opened at $550.02 on Thursday. The stock has a market cap of $501.46 billion, a PE ratio of 38.57, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.43 and a beta of 1.05. Mastercard Incorporated has a fifty-two week low of $428.86 and a fifty-two week high of $594.71. 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 fifty day moving average of $561.86 and a 200-day moving average of $545.04.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 1st. The credit services provider reported $3.73 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.57 by $0.16. The company had revenue of $7.25 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $7.12 billion. Mastercard had a return on equity of 196.87% and a net margin of 45.21%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 14.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $3.31 earnings per share. Equities research analysts anticipate that Mastercard Incorporated will post 15.91 earnings per share for the current year.

Mastercard Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 8th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, July 9th will be given a $0.76 dividend. This represents a $3.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.55%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, July 9th. Mastercard’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 21.32%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

MA has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Citigroup raised their target price on Mastercard from $650.00 to $652.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, May 5th. Evercore ISI started coverage on Mastercard in a report on Wednesday, April 9th. They issued an “in-line” rating and a $550.00 target price on the stock. KeyCorp lifted their price target on Mastercard from $630.00 to $635.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, May 2nd. Wall Street Zen lowered Mastercard from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, June 14th. Finally, Monness Crespi & Hardt lowered Mastercard from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 9th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-four have given a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $610.00.

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.