Deane Retirement Strategies Inc. Increases Stock Position in Mastercard Incorporated $MA

Key Points

• Deane Retirement Strategies Inc. increased its stake in Mastercard by 33.2% in the second quarter, now owning 7,096 shares valued at approximately $3.98 million.
• Mastercard's CFO sold 17,263 shares for over $10.2 million, resulting in a 35.6% decrease in his ownership of the stock.
• The company reported $8.13 billion in revenue for the last quarter, surpassing estimates, with a year-over-year EPS increase from $3.50 to $4.15.

Deane Retirement Strategies Inc. lifted its stake in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA - Free Report) by 33.2% in the second quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 7,096 shares of the credit services provider's stock after acquiring an additional 1,770 shares during the quarter. Mastercard accounts for about 1.8% of Deane Retirement Strategies Inc.'s investment portfolio, making the stock its 26th largest holding. Deane Retirement Strategies Inc.'s holdings in Mastercard were worth $3,983,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Family Legacy Financial Solutions LLC bought a new position in Mastercard in the 2nd quarter worth $26,000. Flaharty Asset Management LLC bought a new position in Mastercard in the 1st quarter worth approximately $27,000. Keystone Global Partners LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Mastercard in the first quarter worth about $31,000. Hughes Financial Services LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Mastercard in the first quarter worth about $34,000. Finally, Sunbeam Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in Mastercard during the fourth quarter worth $41,000. 97.28% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Mastercard

In other Mastercard news, CFO J. Mehra Sachin sold 17,263 shares of Mastercard stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 2nd. The shares were 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 trade represents a 35.60% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Linda Pistecchia Kirkpatrick sold 958 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $560.00, for a total value of $536,480.00. Following the transaction, the insider owned 23,624 shares of the company's stock, valued at $13,229,440. This trade represents a 3.90% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 38,717 shares of company stock valued at $22,684,831 in the last ninety days. Insiders own 0.09% of the company's stock.

Mastercard Trading Down 0.4%

Shares of NYSE:MA opened at $583.88 on Friday. Mastercard Incorporated has a 12-month low of $465.59 and a 12-month high of $601.77. The company has a market capitalization of $527.83 billion, a PE ratio of 39.37, a PEG ratio of 2.40 and a beta of 0.99. The business has a 50 day moving average of $577.23 and a two-hundred day moving average of $559.09. The company has a current ratio of 1.16, a quick ratio of 1.16 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.41.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 31st. The credit services provider reported $4.15 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $4.05 by $0.10. Mastercard had a return on equity of 200.01% and a net margin of 44.93%.The firm had revenue of $8.13 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.95 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $3.50 EPS. Mastercard's revenue for the quarter was up 16.8% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts forecast that Mastercard Incorporated will post 15.91 EPS for the current year.

Mastercard Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 7th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, October 9th will be given a dividend of $0.76 per share. This represents a $3.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.5%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, October 9th. Mastercard's payout ratio is presently 20.50%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on MA. Jefferies Financial Group reissued a "buy" rating on shares of Mastercard in a research note on Friday, June 6th. TD Cowen reissued a "buy" rating and set a $645.00 price target on shares of Mastercard in a research note on Monday, August 11th. Wolfe Research set a $655.00 price target on Mastercard in a research note on Monday, June 23rd. Royal Bank Of Canada increased their target price on shares of Mastercard from $650.00 to $656.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday, August 1st. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group reiterated a "buy" rating on shares of Mastercard in a report on Friday, August 1st. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-four have assigned a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and a consensus price target of $630.89.

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.

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