Focus Partners Advisor Solutions LLC Acquires 909 Shares of Mastercard Incorporated $MA

Key Points

• Focus Partners Advisor Solutions LLC increased its stake in Mastercard by 8.1% during the first quarter, owning 12,085 shares worth approximately $6.62 million at the end of the reporting period.
• Mastercard's latest quarterly earnings report showed a net margin of 44.93% and a year-over-year revenue increase of 16.8%, beating analysts' expectations with earnings per share of $4.15.
• The company declared a quarterly dividend of $0.76 per share with an annualized yield of 0.5%, reflecting a dividend payout ratio of 20.50%.

Focus Partners Advisor Solutions LLC lifted its position in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA - Free Report) by 8.1% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 12,085 shares of the credit services provider's stock after buying an additional 909 shares during the period. Focus Partners Advisor Solutions LLC's holdings in Mastercard were worth $6,624,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Measured Risk Portfolios Inc. acquired a new position in Mastercard in the 4th quarter worth approximately $31,000. Keystone Global Partners LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Mastercard in the 1st quarter worth $31,000. 10Elms LLP acquired a new stake in shares of Mastercard during the 4th quarter worth about $33,000. Hughes Financial Services LLC purchased a new position in Mastercard during the 1st quarter valued at about $34,000. Finally, Mpwm Advisory Solutions LLC purchased a new position in Mastercard during the 4th quarter valued at about $36,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 97.28% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity

In other Mastercard news, insider Linda Pistecchia Kirkpatrick sold 959 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Friday, June 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $572.86, for a total transaction of $549,372.74. Following the transaction, the insider owned 25,540 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $14,630,844.40. This represents a 3.62% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Raj Seshadri sold 1,100 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Friday, June 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $546.77, for a total value of $601,447.00. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 12,921 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,064,815.17. This represents a 7.85% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 59,481 shares of company stock worth $32,616,595. 0.09% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Mastercard Stock Performance

Shares of Mastercard stock traded up $1.59 during trading on Thursday, reaching $594.87. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,653,726 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,779,682. Mastercard Incorporated has a one year low of $465.59 and a one year high of $601.77. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.41, a quick ratio of 1.16 and a current ratio of 1.16. The firm has a market cap of $537.77 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 40.11, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.44 and a beta of 0.99. The business's fifty day moving average price is $570.99 and its 200-day moving average price is $557.28.

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

Mastercard Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 8th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, July 9th were issued a dividend of $0.76 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, July 9th. This represents a $3.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.5%. Mastercard's dividend payout ratio is currently 20.50%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms recently weighed in on MA. Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on Mastercard from $639.00 to $661.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, August 1st. UBS Group upped their price objective on Mastercard from $660.00 to $670.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, June 3rd. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on Mastercard from $625.00 to $650.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, August 1st. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft initiated coverage on Mastercard in a report on Thursday, July 17th. They set a "buy" rating and a $650.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group reaffirmed a "buy" rating on shares of Mastercard in a report on Friday, June 6th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-four have assigned a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Mastercard presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $626.54.

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.