Evolution Wealth Advisors LLC Buys New Stake in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA)

Evolution Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 431 shares of the credit services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $208,000.

Other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Westend Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Mastercard during the first quarter worth about $27,000. VitalStone Financial LLC boosted its stake in shares of Mastercard by 300.0% during the fourth quarter. VitalStone Financial LLC now owns 60 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $26,000 after buying an additional 45 shares during the period. Altshuler Shaham Ltd acquired a new stake in shares of Mastercard during the fourth quarter worth about $26,000. LFA Lugano Financial Advisors SA acquired a new stake in Mastercard in the fourth quarter valued at about $27,000. Finally, Scarborough Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Mastercard in the fourth quarter valued at about $28,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 97.28% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Mastercard

In other news, major shareholder Foundation Mastercard sold 109,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, April 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $462.78, for a total value of $50,443,020.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 96,996,308 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $44,887,951,416.24. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. In related news, insider Craig Vosburg sold 9,028 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, June 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $451.06, for a total transaction of $4,072,169.68. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 58,940 shares in the company, valued at $26,585,476.40. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, major shareholder Foundation Mastercard sold 109,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, April 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $462.78, for a total transaction of $50,443,020.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 96,996,308 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $44,887,951,416.24. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 3,163,228 shares of company stock valued at $1,428,540,870 in the last ninety days. Company insiders own 0.10% of the company’s stock.

Mastercard Stock Up 0.8 %

Shares of MA traded up $3.53 during midday trading on Wednesday, hitting $448.18. The company had a trading volume of 3,191,964 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,468,812. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $450.76 and its 200 day moving average price is $453.63. The stock has a market cap of $416.63 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 35.61, a PEG ratio of 1.72 and a beta of 1.09. Mastercard Incorporated has a 52 week low of $359.77 and a 52 week high of $490.00. The company has a quick ratio of 1.09, a current ratio of 1.09 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.86.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA) last posted its 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 firm had revenue of $6.35 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.34 billion. Mastercard had a net margin of 46.09% and a return on equity of 183.70%. Mastercard’s revenue was up 10.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $2.80 EPS. On average, equities research analysts predict that Mastercard Incorporated will post 14.26 EPS for the current year.

Mastercard Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 9th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, July 9th will be paid a dividend of $0.66 per share. This represents a $2.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.59%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, July 9th. Mastercard’s payout ratio is 20.99%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on the stock. Barclays reduced their price objective on shares of Mastercard from $549.00 to $530.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, May 6th. Evercore ISI reduced their price objective on shares of Mastercard from $540.00 to $525.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, June 25th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their target price on shares of Mastercard from $520.00 to $510.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, May 2nd. Susquehanna reaffirmed a “positive” rating and issued a $535.00 target price on shares of Mastercard in a report on Wednesday, April 3rd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on shares of Mastercard from $490.00 to $530.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 6th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-three have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $496.91.

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.