Mastercard Incorporated $MA Shares Acquired by Phoenix Financial Ltd.

Key Points

• Phoenix Financial Ltd. increased its holdings in Mastercard by 8.3% during the second quarter, now owning 44,571 shares valued at approximately $25 million.
• Mastercard received multiple upgrades from analysts, with a consensus target price set at $634.04 and most institutions holding the stock rating it as either a "Buy" or "Strong Buy".
• The company recently announced a quarterly dividend of $0.76 per share, indicating a 0.5% yield and a payout ratio of 20.50%.

Phoenix Financial Ltd. boosted its holdings in shares of Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA - Free Report) by 8.3% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 44,571 shares of the credit services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 3,411 shares during the period. Phoenix Financial Ltd.'s holdings in Mastercard were worth $24,999,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. Family Legacy Financial Solutions LLC purchased a new stake in Mastercard during the second quarter worth $26,000. Flaharty Asset Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Mastercard in the first quarter valued at $27,000. Keystone Global Partners LLC acquired a new position in Mastercard in the first quarter valued at $31,000. Hughes Financial Services LLC acquired a new position in Mastercard in the first quarter valued at $34,000. Finally, 1 North Wealth Services LLC acquired a new position in Mastercard in the first quarter valued at $44,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 97.28% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have commented on MA shares. Wall Street Zen upgraded Mastercard from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Saturday. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft initiated coverage on Mastercard in a research note on Thursday, July 17th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $650.00 target price for the company. Royal Bank Of Canada increased their target price on Mastercard from $650.00 to $656.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, August 1st. The Goldman Sachs Group restated a "buy" rating on shares of Mastercard in a research note on Friday, August 1st. Finally, Wolfe Research set a $655.00 price objective on Mastercard in a research note on Monday, June 23rd. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-five have assigned a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Mastercard presently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and a consensus target price of $634.04.

Insider Buying and Selling at Mastercard

In other news, CFO J. Mehra Sachin sold 17,263 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, September 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $591.00, for a total value of $10,202,433.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 31,234 shares in the company, valued at approximately $18,459,294. This represents a 35.60% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Corporate insiders own 0.09% of the company's stock.

Mastercard Stock Performance

Shares of MA stock opened at $566.35 on Tuesday. Mastercard Incorporated has a 1-year low of $465.59 and a 1-year high of $601.77. The company has a current ratio of 1.16, a quick ratio of 1.16 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.41. The company has a market capitalization of $511.99 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 38.19, a P/E/G ratio of 2.30 and a beta of 0.97. The stock's fifty day simple moving average is $580.07 and its 200-day simple moving average is $564.03.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, July 31st. The credit services provider reported $4.15 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates 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 for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.95 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $3.50 earnings per share. The business's quarterly revenue was up 16.8% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Mastercard Incorporated will post 15.91 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Mastercard Announces Dividend

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

Mastercard Company 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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