J.W. Cole Advisors Inc. Boosts Stake in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA)

J.W. Cole Advisors Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA - Free Report) by 49.5% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 9,852 shares of the credit services provider's stock after buying an additional 3,260 shares during the quarter. J.W. Cole Advisors Inc.'s holdings in Mastercard were worth $5,400,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in MA. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Mastercard by 0.5% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 77,179,138 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $40,640,219,000 after acquiring an additional 377,302 shares during the last quarter. FMR LLC raised its position in Mastercard by 4.3% during the 4th quarter. FMR LLC now owns 22,267,937 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $11,725,627,000 after purchasing an additional 912,856 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its position in Mastercard by 1.5% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 18,657,792 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $9,800,202,000 after purchasing an additional 282,739 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new position in Mastercard during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $6,022,224,000. Finally, Wellington Management Group LLP raised its position in Mastercard by 9.1% during the 4th quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 9,760,740 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $5,139,713,000 after purchasing an additional 817,836 shares during the last quarter. 97.28% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. KeyCorp increased their target price on Mastercard from $630.00 to $635.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, May 2nd. Wolfe Research set a $655.00 target price on Mastercard in a research report on Monday, June 23rd. Wall Street Zen upgraded Mastercard from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday. Seaport Res Ptn upgraded Mastercard from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Monday, July 14th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada reiterated an "outperform" rating and set a $650.00 target price on shares of Mastercard in a research note on Tuesday, July 15th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-five have issued a buy rating and three have assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Mastercard currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $612.90.

Mastercard Price Performance

Shares of Mastercard stock opened at $552.52 on Monday. Mastercard Incorporated has a one year low of $428.86 and a one year high of $594.71. The stock's fifty day moving average is $567.30 and its 200 day moving average is $548.77. The stock has a market cap of $503.74 billion, a P/E ratio of 38.75, a P/E/G ratio of 2.40 and a beta of 1.02. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.81, a quick ratio of 1.11 and a current ratio of 1.11.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, May 1st. The credit services provider reported $3.73 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $3.57 by $0.16. The company had revenue of $7.25 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $7.12 billion. Mastercard had a return on equity of 196.87% and a net margin of 45.21%. Mastercard's revenue for the quarter was up 14.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm earned $3.31 EPS. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Mastercard Incorporated will post 15.91 earnings per share for the current year.

Mastercard Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 8th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, July 9th will be issued a dividend of $0.76 per share. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, July 9th. This represents a $3.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.55%. Mastercard's dividend payout ratio is presently 21.32%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Mastercard news, insider Linda Pistecchia Kirkpatrick sold 958 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $560.00, for a total transaction of $536,480.00. Following the sale, the insider directly 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 transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Raj Seshadri sold 1,100 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Friday, June 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $546.77, for a total value of $601,447.00. Following the sale, 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 ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 38,753 shares of company stock valued at $20,351,084 in the last ninety days. Insiders own 0.09% of the company's stock.

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.

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