Park Avenue Securities LLC Makes New $27.82 Million Investment in Mastercard Incorporated $MA

Key Points

• Park Avenue Securities LLC has made a $27.82 million investment by purchasing 49,507 shares in Mastercard Incorporated during the 2nd quarter.
• Mastercard's latest earnings report showed an EPS of $4.15, exceeding estimates, with revenue increasing by 16.8% year-over-year, reaching $8.13 billion.
• The company has announced a $0.76 quarterly dividend payable on November 7, representing a 0.5% dividend yield and a payout ratio of 20.50%.

Park Avenue Securities LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA - Free Report) in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm purchased 49,507 shares of the credit services provider's stock, valued at approximately $27,820,000.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in MA. Accredited Investors Inc. raised its holdings in Mastercard by 2.6% during the 1st quarter. Accredited Investors Inc. now owns 718 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $394,000 after buying an additional 18 shares during the period. Wealthstream Advisors Inc. lifted its position in shares of Mastercard by 2.9% in the 1st quarter. Wealthstream Advisors Inc. now owns 632 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $347,000 after purchasing an additional 18 shares during the period. Phillips Wealth Planners LLC raised its position 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 acquiring an additional 19 shares in the last quarter. Alta Wealth Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Mastercard by 3.6% during the 1st quarter. Alta Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 540 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $296,000 after acquiring an additional 19 shares in the last quarter. Finally, May Hill Capital LLC increased its position in Mastercard by 2.0% during the 1st quarter. May Hill Capital LLC now owns 986 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $540,000 after buying an additional 19 shares in the last quarter. 97.28% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Mastercard Stock Down 0.4%

Mastercard stock opened at $583.88 on Friday. 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 company has a 50-day simple moving average of $577.23 and a 200-day simple moving average of $559.09. The firm has a market capitalization of $527.83 billion, a P/E ratio of 39.37, a P/E/G ratio of 2.39 and a beta of 0.99. Mastercard Incorporated has a one year low of $465.59 and a one year high of $601.77.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA - Get Free Report) last announced its 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 for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.95 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $3.50 EPS. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 16.8% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts expect that Mastercard Incorporated will post 15.91 earnings per share for the current year.

Mastercard Dividend Announcement

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. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, October 9th. This represents a $3.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.5%. Mastercard's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 20.50%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on the stock. The Goldman Sachs Group reissued a "buy" rating on shares of Mastercard in a research report on Friday, August 1st. Seaport Res Ptn raised shares of Mastercard from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Monday, July 14th. Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on shares of Mastercard from $639.00 to $661.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, August 1st. KeyCorp boosted their price target on Mastercard from $635.00 to $660.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, August 1st. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group reissued a "buy" rating on shares of Mastercard in a research report on Friday, June 6th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-four have given a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Mastercard currently has an average rating of "Buy" and an average target price of $630.89.

Insider Transactions at Mastercard

In related news, CFO J. Mehra Sachin sold 17,263 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 of the company's stock, valued at $18,459,294. This represents a 35.60% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Raj Seshadri sold 1,100 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, June 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $546.77, for a total transaction of $601,447.00. Following the sale, the insider owned 12,921 shares of the company's stock, valued at $7,064,815.17. The trade was a 7.85% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 38,717 shares of company stock worth $22,684,831 over the last 90 days. 0.09% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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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