Mastercard Incorporated $MA Shares Acquired by Mediolanum International Funds Ltd

Mediolanum International Funds Ltd lifted its stake in shares of Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) by 31.6% in the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 154,742 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 37,123 shares during the period. Mastercard comprises 0.8% of Mediolanum International Funds Ltd’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 21st biggest position. Mediolanum International Funds Ltd’s holdings in Mastercard were worth $76,443,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. E Fund Management Hong Kong Co. Ltd. increased its stake in Mastercard by 820.0% during the 4th quarter. E Fund Management Hong Kong Co. Ltd. now owns 46 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $26,000 after buying an additional 41 shares in the last quarter. Strive Financial Group LLC purchased a new position in shares of Mastercard in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Hyposwiss Advisors SA purchased a new position in shares of Mastercard in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $29,000. First Pacific Financial boosted its stake in shares of Mastercard by 113.8% in the first quarter. First Pacific Financial now owns 62 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $31,000 after acquiring an additional 33 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bay Harbor Wealth Management LLC increased its position in shares of Mastercard by 54.1% during the fourth quarter. Bay Harbor Wealth Management LLC now owns 57 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $33,000 after purchasing an additional 20 shares in the last quarter. 97.28% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Mastercard Trading Down 1.4%

Shares of MA opened at $543.55 on Friday. Mastercard Incorporated has a 12-month low of $464.52 and a 12-month high of $601.77. The firm has a market capitalization of $480.27 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.46, a P/E/G ratio of 1.69 and a beta of 0.73. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $503.99 and a 200 day moving average price of $516.23. The company has a current ratio of 0.98, a quick ratio of 0.98 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.56.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, April 30th. The credit services provider reported $4.60 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $4.41 by $0.19. Mastercard had a net margin of 45.88% and a return on equity of 212.96%. The company had revenue of $8.40 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $8.26 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $3.73 EPS. Mastercard’s revenue was up 15.8% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts forecast that Mastercard Incorporated will post 19.62 EPS for the current year.

Mastercard Dividend Announcement

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

Insider Buying and Selling at Mastercard

In related news, insider Sandra A. Arkell sold 200 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $540.00, for a total transaction of $108,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 3,322 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,793,880. This trade represents a 5.68% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, insider Raj Seshadri sold 1,977 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, July 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $529.73, for a total transaction of $1,047,276.21. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 16,429 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,702,934.17. This trade represents a 10.74% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. In the last three months, insiders have sold 7,005 shares of company stock valued at $3,689,976. 0.09% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts recently commented on MA shares. Dbs Bank raised Mastercard to a “moderate buy” rating in a research note on Friday, March 27th. UBS Group reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Mastercard in a research report on Thursday, June 25th. BMO Capital Markets assumed coverage on shares of Mastercard in a research report on Tuesday, April 21st. They set an “outperform” rating and a $605.00 price target on the stock. Clear Str raised shares of Mastercard to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Thursday. Finally, Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Mastercard from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, May 2nd. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty have assigned a Buy rating, one has given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $653.92.

Mastercard 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.