GAMMA Investing LLC Increases Position in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA)

GAMMA Investing LLC raised its position in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) by 33.0% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 8,274 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 2,052 shares during the period. Mastercard accounts for 0.5% of GAMMA Investing LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 27th largest holding. GAMMA Investing LLC’s holdings in Mastercard were worth $3,650,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Hoxton Planning & Management LLC grew its holdings in Mastercard by 1.4% during the first quarter. Hoxton Planning & Management LLC now owns 1,637 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $788,000 after purchasing an additional 22 shares during the last quarter. Carolinas Wealth Consulting LLC grew its stake in shares of Mastercard by 5.0% in the fourth quarter. Carolinas Wealth Consulting LLC now owns 484 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $206,000 after acquiring an additional 23 shares during the last quarter. Benin Management CORP grew its stake in shares of Mastercard by 3.0% in the first quarter. Benin Management CORP now owns 794 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $382,000 after acquiring an additional 23 shares during the last quarter. Atticus Wealth Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Mastercard by 1.3% in the first quarter. Atticus Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,734 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $835,000 after acquiring an additional 23 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Strategic Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Mastercard by 0.3% in the first quarter. Strategic Advisors LLC now owns 6,881 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $3,314,000 after acquiring an additional 23 shares during the last quarter. 97.28% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on MA shares. Citigroup raised their price objective on shares of Mastercard from $528.00 to $538.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday. Morgan Stanley lowered their price objective on shares of Mastercard from $536.00 to $524.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, May 2nd. Mizuho decreased their price target on shares of Mastercard from $480.00 to $478.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, May 2nd. William Blair upgraded shares of Mastercard to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday. Finally, KeyCorp lifted their price target on shares of Mastercard from $490.00 to $515.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-one have given a buy rating and four have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $507.27.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Sandra A. Arkell sold 300 shares of Mastercard stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $447.23, for a total value of $134,169.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 4,063 shares in the company, valued at $1,817,095.49. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In related news, insider Sandra A. Arkell sold 300 shares of Mastercard stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $447.23, for a total value of $134,169.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 4,063 shares in the company, valued at $1,817,095.49. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, major shareholder Foundation Mastercard sold 122,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $460.20, for a total value of $56,144,400.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 94,971,308 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $43,705,795,941.60. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 2,462,228 shares of company stock worth $1,110,349,560 over the last three months. 0.10% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Mastercard Price Performance

Shares of Mastercard stock traded down $0.39 during trading on Friday, reaching $462.02. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 3,808,080 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,706,904. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $446.48 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $457.03. The company has a current ratio of 1.14, a quick ratio of 1.09 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.95. Mastercard Incorporated has a one year low of $359.77 and a one year high of $490.00. The stock has a market capitalization of $429.50 billion, a P/E ratio of 36.73, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.82 and a beta of 1.09.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 1st. The credit services provider reported $3.31 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.22 by $0.09. The business had revenue of $6.35 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.34 billion. Mastercard had a return on equity of 179.78% and a net margin of 46.45%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 10.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $2.80 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Mastercard Incorporated will post 14.27 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Mastercard Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 9th. Investors of record on Tuesday, July 9th will be given a $0.66 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, July 9th. This represents a $2.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.57%. Mastercard’s payout ratio is 20.99%.

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.