Gallacher Capital Management LLC Takes $228,000 Position in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA)

Gallacher Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) during the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund acquired 473 shares of the credit services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $228,000.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in MA. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of Mastercard during the 4th quarter valued at about $4,595,559,000. International Assets Investment Management LLC raised its stake in Mastercard by 43,445.1% during the 4th quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 2,936,684 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $1,252,525,000 after purchasing an additional 2,929,940 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in Mastercard by 1.0% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 75,253,734 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $32,096,470,000 after purchasing an additional 742,076 shares during the period. Capital International Investors raised its stake in Mastercard by 3.3% during the 4th quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 21,041,685 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $8,974,478,000 after purchasing an additional 676,452 shares during the period. Finally, Capital Research Global Investors raised its stake in Mastercard by 4.7% during the 4th quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 13,608,023 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $5,803,956,000 after purchasing an additional 605,909 shares during the period. 97.28% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Mastercard Stock Up 1.0 %

Shares of MA stock traded up $4.24 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $440.66. The stock had a trading volume of 971,668 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,473,209. Mastercard Incorporated has a 12-month low of $359.77 and a 12-month high of $490.00. The firm has a market capitalization of $409.64 billion, a P/E ratio of 34.91, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.69 and a beta of 1.09. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $449.32 and its two-hundred day moving average is $454.20. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.86, a current ratio of 1.09 and a quick ratio of 1.09.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, May 1st. The credit services provider reported $3.31 earnings per share for the quarter, topping 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 business had revenue of $6.35 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.34 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $2.80 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 10.4% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts predict that Mastercard Incorporated will post 14.26 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 9th. Investors of record on Tuesday, July 9th will be given a dividend of $0.66 per share. This represents a $2.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.60%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, July 9th. Mastercard’s payout ratio is currently 20.99%.

Insider Activity at Mastercard

In related news, insider Sandra A. Arkell sold 300 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $447.23, for a total transaction of $134,169.00. Following the sale, the insider now owns 4,063 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,817,095.49. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In related news, insider Sandra A. Arkell sold 300 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $447.23, for a total transaction of $134,169.00. Following the sale, the insider now owns 4,063 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,817,095.49. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, major shareholder Foundation Mastercard sold 109,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, April 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $457.46, for a total value of $49,863,140.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 97,215,308 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $44,472,114,797.68. 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 over the last quarter. 0.10% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts recently issued reports on MA shares. Piper Sandler assumed coverage on Mastercard in a research note on Monday, May 13th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $531.00 target price on the stock. TD Cowen assumed coverage on Mastercard in a research note on Thursday, April 11th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $545.00 price objective on the stock. Bank of America downgraded Mastercard from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and reduced their price objective for the stock from $505.00 to $480.00 in a research note on Wednesday. Evercore ISI reduced their price objective on Mastercard from $540.00 to $525.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, June 25th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price objective on Mastercard from $520.00 to $510.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, May 2nd. Three 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.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $498.57.

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.