Waycross Partners LLC Purchases 1,708 Shares of Mastercard Incorporated $MA

Waycross Partners LLC increased its position in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) by 2.4% during the 1st quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 71,670 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,708 shares during the period. Mastercard comprises 3.4% of Waycross Partners LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 11th largest position. Waycross Partners LLC’s holdings in Mastercard were worth $35,811,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Riggs Asset Managment Co. Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Mastercard by 20.0% during the 2nd quarter. Riggs Asset Managment Co. Inc. now owns 108 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $61,000 after buying an additional 18 shares in the last quarter. Affinity Capital Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Mastercard by 0.7% in the 4th quarter. Affinity Capital Advisors LLC now owns 2,939 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $1,678,000 after buying an additional 19 shares during the period. Abacus Planning Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of Mastercard by 3.3% in the 4th quarter. Abacus Planning Group Inc. now owns 590 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $337,000 after acquiring an additional 19 shares in the last quarter. Thomasville National Bank increased its stake in shares of Mastercard by 4.1% in the 4th quarter. Thomasville National Bank now owns 479 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $273,000 after acquiring an additional 19 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Castle Rock Wealth Management LLC lifted its position in Mastercard by 2.8% during the 4th quarter. Castle Rock Wealth Management LLC now owns 695 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $387,000 after acquiring an additional 19 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 97.28% of the company’s stock.

Mastercard Stock Performance

Shares of MA stock opened at $543.55 on Monday. Mastercard Incorporated has a one year low of $464.52 and a one year high of $601.77. The company’s 50-day moving average is $503.99 and its 200 day moving average is $515.80. The company has a market capitalization of $480.27 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.46, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.70 and a beta of 0.73. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.56, a quick ratio of 0.98 and a current ratio of 0.98.

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

Mastercard Dividend Announcement

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

Insider Activity at Mastercard

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on MA shares. Loop Capital restated a “buy” rating and issued a $631.00 price objective on shares of Mastercard in a report on Wednesday, June 3rd. Citigroup lowered their target price on shares of Mastercard from $735.00 to $675.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, April 14th. Morgan Stanley reissued an “overweight” rating and issued a $679.00 price target on shares of Mastercard in a research report on Friday, May 1st. Weiss Ratings downgraded Mastercard from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research note on Friday, April 24th. Finally, Wall Street Zen lowered Mastercard from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, May 2nd. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty have issued a Buy rating, one has assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $653.92.

Mastercard Company 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.