Novem Group Acquires 1,159 Shares of Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA)

Novem Group boosted its holdings in shares of Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) by 29.2% in the first quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 5,130 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,159 shares during the period. Novem Group’s holdings in Mastercard were worth $2,812,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of MA. Brighton Jones LLC raised its holdings in shares of Mastercard by 42.3% in the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 6,824 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $3,594,000 after buying an additional 2,028 shares during the last quarter. Bank Pictet & Cie Europe AG increased its position in Mastercard by 11.8% in the 4th quarter. Bank Pictet & Cie Europe AG now owns 70,472 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $37,108,000 after acquiring an additional 7,452 shares in the last quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. raised its stake in shares of Mastercard by 1.6% in the fourth quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 525,676 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $276,805,000 after acquiring an additional 8,477 shares during the last quarter. Carrera Capital Advisors raised its stake in shares of Mastercard by 8.1% in the fourth quarter. Carrera Capital Advisors now owns 545 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $287,000 after acquiring an additional 41 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Triad Wealth Partners LLC acquired a new position in shares of Mastercard during the fourth quarter worth approximately $1,017,000. Institutional investors own 97.28% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Linda Pistecchia Kirkpatrick sold 958 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $560.00, for a total transaction of $536,480.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 23,624 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $13,229,440. This represents a 3.90% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider Sandra A. Arkell sold 150 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $580.00, for a total value of $87,000.00. Following the transaction, the insider owned 3,255 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,887,900. The trade was a 4.41% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 38,441 shares of company stock worth $20,173,035 in the last ninety days. 0.09% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Mastercard Trading Down 0.5%

NYSE:MA opened at $561.75 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.81, a current ratio of 1.11 and a quick ratio of 1.11. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $565.55 and its 200-day simple moving average is $546.00. Mastercard Incorporated has a fifty-two week low of $428.86 and a fifty-two week high of $594.71. The stock has a market capitalization of $512.15 billion, a PE ratio of 39.39, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.45 and a beta of 1.02.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, May 1st. The credit services provider reported $3.73 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.57 by $0.16. Mastercard had a net margin of 45.21% and a return on equity of 196.87%. The firm had revenue of $7.25 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.12 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted $3.31 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 14.2% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts expect 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. Investors of record on Wednesday, July 9th will be issued a dividend of $0.76 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, July 9th. This represents a $3.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.54%. Mastercard’s payout ratio is 21.32%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts recently weighed in on MA shares. KeyCorp raised 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. Evercore ISI started coverage on Mastercard in a research report on Wednesday, April 9th. They issued an “in-line” rating and a $550.00 price objective on the stock. Wall Street Zen downgraded Mastercard from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, June 14th. Monness Crespi & Hardt lowered Mastercard from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 9th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $633.00 price objective on shares of Mastercard in a research report on Wednesday, April 2nd. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-four have issued a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $611.50.

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.