MEAG MUNICH ERGO Kapitalanlagegesellschaft mbH Grows Holdings in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA)

MEAG MUNICH ERGO Kapitalanlagegesellschaft mbH grew its stake in shares of Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) by 6.9% in the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 76,114 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 4,938 shares during the quarter. MEAG MUNICH ERGO Kapitalanlagegesellschaft mbH’s holdings in Mastercard were worth $36,654,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Westend Capital Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Mastercard during the 1st quarter worth $27,000. VitalStone Financial LLC grew its holdings in Mastercard by 300.0% during the 4th quarter. VitalStone Financial LLC now owns 60 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $26,000 after acquiring an additional 45 shares in the last quarter. Altshuler Shaham Ltd bought a new stake in shares of Mastercard in the 4th quarter valued at about $26,000. LFA Lugano Financial Advisors SA purchased a new stake in shares of Mastercard in the 4th quarter worth approximately $27,000. Finally, Scarborough Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Mastercard during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $28,000. 97.28% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Mastercard

In related news, major shareholder Foundation Mastercard sold 138,000 shares of Mastercard stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, June 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $453.19, for a total transaction of $62,540,220.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 92,152,308 shares in the company, valued at $41,762,504,462.52. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. In other Mastercard news, major shareholder Foundation Mastercard sold 138,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, June 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $453.19, for a total value of $62,540,220.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 92,152,308 shares in the company, valued at approximately $41,762,504,462.52. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider Craig Vosburg sold 9,028 shares of Mastercard stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, June 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $447.28, for a total transaction of $4,038,043.84. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 58,940 shares in the company, valued at approximately $26,362,683.20. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 3,163,228 shares of company stock valued at $1,428,540,870 in the last ninety days. 0.10% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Mastercard Stock Performance

MA traded up $7.04 during midday trading on Tuesday, hitting $444.65. 2,036,076 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,462,871. The firm has a market capitalization of $413.35 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 35.17, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.72 and a beta of 1.09. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $451.12 and its 200 day simple moving average is $453.44. The company has a current ratio of 1.09, a quick ratio of 1.09 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.86. Mastercard Incorporated has a 1-year low of $359.77 and a 1-year high of $490.00.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 1st. The credit services provider reported $3.31 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.22 by $0.09. Mastercard had a return on equity of 183.70% and a net margin of 46.09%. The company had revenue of $6.35 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.34 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $2.80 earnings per share. Mastercard’s quarterly revenue was up 10.4% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Mastercard Incorporated will post 14.26 earnings per share for the current year.

Mastercard Announces Dividend

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have weighed in on MA. Susquehanna restated a “positive” rating and set a $535.00 target price on shares of Mastercard in a report on Wednesday, April 3rd. TD Cowen initiated coverage on Mastercard in a research report on Thursday, April 11th. They set a “buy” rating and a $545.00 price objective on the stock. Evercore ISI reduced their target price on shares of Mastercard from $540.00 to $525.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, June 25th. Barclays decreased their price target 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. Finally, Robert W. Baird boosted their price objective on shares of Mastercard from $525.00 to $545.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 18th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-three have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Mastercard presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price 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.