Berger Financial Group Inc Has $10.63 Million Stake in Mastercard Incorporated $MA

Berger Financial Group Inc trimmed its holdings in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) by 3.2% during the second quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 18,912 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after selling 620 shares during the quarter. Berger Financial Group Inc’s holdings in Mastercard were worth $10,627,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. BridgePort Financial Solutions LLC bought a new position in Mastercard during the 2nd quarter valued at $235,000. Talbot Financial LLC grew its position in shares of Mastercard by 21.1% during the 2nd quarter. Talbot Financial LLC now owns 18,988 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $10,670,000 after acquiring an additional 3,313 shares during the period. Yoder Wealth Management Inc. grew its holdings in Mastercard by 10.4% during the second quarter. Yoder Wealth Management Inc. now owns 603 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $339,000 after purchasing an additional 57 shares during the period. Sava Infond d.o.o. increased its holdings in Mastercard by 3.4% in the 2nd quarter. Sava Infond d.o.o. now owns 9,195 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $5,167,000 after acquiring an additional 300 shares during the last quarter. Finally, LGT Fund Management Co Ltd. increased its stake in shares of Mastercard by 17.9% in the second quarter. LGT Fund Management Co Ltd. now owns 16,560 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $9,306,000 after purchasing an additional 2,516 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 97.28% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms recently issued reports on MA. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Mastercard in a research note on Saturday, September 27th. Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on shares of Mastercard from $639.00 to $661.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, August 1st. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on Mastercard from $625.00 to $650.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, August 1st. KeyCorp boosted their target price on Mastercard from $635.00 to $660.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, August 1st. Finally, Wolfe Research set a $655.00 price target on Mastercard in a report on Monday, June 23rd. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-five have given a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Mastercard currently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $630.89.

Insider Transactions at Mastercard

In related news, CFO J. Mehra Sachin sold 17,263 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $591.00, for a total transaction of $10,202,433.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 31,234 shares in the company, valued at $18,459,294. This represents a 35.60% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, Director Julius Genachowski sold 312 shares of Mastercard stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, July 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $570.67, for a total value of $178,049.04. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 8,469 shares in the company, valued at $4,833,004.23. This trade represents a 3.55% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 35,391 shares of company stock valued at $20,836,514. 0.09% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Mastercard Stock Up 0.6%

Shares of MA opened at $581.08 on Friday. Mastercard Incorporated has a 1 year low of $465.59 and a 1 year high of $601.77. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.41, a current ratio of 1.16 and a quick ratio of 1.16. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $580.26 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $561.85. The firm has a market cap of $525.30 billion, a P/E ratio of 39.18, a P/E/G ratio of 2.38 and a beta of 0.97.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 31st. The credit services provider reported $4.15 earnings per share for the quarter, topping 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 analyst estimates of $7.95 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $3.50 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 16.8% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts forecast 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, November 7th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, October 9th will be issued a $0.76 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, October 9th. This represents a $3.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.5%. Mastercard’s payout ratio is currently 20.50%.

About Mastercard

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.