Astoria Portfolio Advisors LLC. Acquires 2,442 Shares of Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA)

Astoria Portfolio Advisors LLC. boosted its position in shares of Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA - Free Report) by 149.4% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 4,076 shares of the credit services provider's stock after buying an additional 2,442 shares during the quarter. Mastercard makes up 0.7% of Astoria Portfolio Advisors LLC.'s holdings, making the stock its 29th biggest position. Astoria Portfolio Advisors LLC.'s holdings in Mastercard were worth $2,160,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Founders Financial Alliance LLC lifted its position in shares of Mastercard by 2.9% in the fourth quarter. Founders Financial Alliance LLC now owns 676 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $356,000 after purchasing an additional 19 shares in the last quarter. BlackDiamond Wealth Management LLC raised its holdings in Mastercard by 2.3% in the 4th quarter. BlackDiamond Wealth Management LLC now owns 846 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $445,000 after purchasing an additional 19 shares in the last quarter. Fi3 FINANCIAL ADVISORS LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Mastercard by 2.6% during the fourth quarter. Fi3 FINANCIAL ADVISORS LLC now owns 736 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $388,000 after purchasing an additional 19 shares in the last quarter. Strategy Asset Managers LLC raised its position in shares of Mastercard by 2.1% during the 4th quarter. Strategy Asset Managers LLC now owns 911 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $480,000 after purchasing an additional 19 shares during the period. Finally, Phillips Wealth Planners LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Mastercard by 1.8% in the 1st quarter. Phillips Wealth Planners LLC now owns 1,055 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $538,000 after purchasing an additional 19 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 97.28% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have recently commented on the stock. Wolfe Research set a $655.00 target price on shares of Mastercard in a research note on Monday, June 23rd. The Goldman Sachs Group reaffirmed a "buy" rating and issued a $633.00 price target on shares of Mastercard in a report on Wednesday, April 2nd. Citigroup upped their price target on shares of Mastercard from $650.00 to $652.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, May 5th. Macquarie dropped their price objective on shares of Mastercard from $645.00 to $610.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Friday, May 2nd. Finally, Monness Crespi & Hardt downgraded shares of Mastercard from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 9th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-four have assigned a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $611.50.

Insider Buying and Selling at Mastercard

In related news, insider Raj Seshadri sold 1,100 shares of the 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 owned 12,921 shares of the company's stock, valued at $7,064,815.17. This trade represents a 7.85% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider Sandra A. Arkell sold 150 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Monday, May 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $580.00, for a total value of $87,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 3,255 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,887,900. This trade represents a 4.41% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 38,441 shares of company stock worth $20,173,035. Insiders own 0.09% of the company's stock.

Mastercard Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE MA traded up $5.01 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $566.53. The company had a trading volume of 1,524,564 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,670,876. Mastercard Incorporated has a 1 year low of $428.86 and a 1 year high of $594.71. The stock has a market cap of $516.51 billion, a P/E ratio of 39.73, a P/E/G ratio of 2.45 and a beta of 1.02. The business's 50-day simple moving average is $565.55 and its 200 day simple moving average is $546.00. The company has a current ratio of 1.11, a quick ratio of 1.11 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.81.

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

Mastercard Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 8th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, July 9th will be issued a $0.76 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, July 9th. This represents a $3.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.54%. Mastercard's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 21.32%.

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.