Souders Financial Advisors Boosts Holdings in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA)

Souders Financial Advisors lifted its stake in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA - Free Report) by 57.6% during the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 1,275 shares of the credit services provider's stock after buying an additional 466 shares during the period. Souders Financial Advisors' holdings in Mastercard were worth $699,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Norges Bank purchased a new position in Mastercard during the 4th quarter worth $6,022,224,000. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Mastercard by 65,631.5% in the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 8,225,637 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $4,508,636,000 after acquiring an additional 8,213,123 shares in the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp boosted its holdings in shares of Mastercard by 15.2% in the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 9,149,181 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $4,817,684,000 after acquiring an additional 1,207,787 shares in the last quarter. Sanders Capital LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Mastercard in the fourth quarter valued at about $617,303,000. Finally, Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH purchased a new stake in shares of Mastercard in the fourth quarter valued at about $561,313,000. 97.28% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Linda Pistecchia Kirkpatrick sold 958 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $560.00, for a total value of $536,480.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 23,624 shares of the company's stock, valued at $13,229,440. This represents a 3.90% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Julius Genachowski sold 312 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, July 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $570.67, for a total transaction of $178,049.04. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 8,469 shares of the company's stock, valued at $4,833,004.23. This trade represents a 3.55% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 38,753 shares of company stock valued at $20,351,084 over the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 0.09% of the company's stock.

Mastercard Stock Performance

MA opened at $552.52 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 1.11, a quick ratio of 1.11 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.81. The business's 50 day moving average is $567.30 and its 200-day moving average is $548.59. The stock has a market cap of $503.74 billion, a PE ratio of 38.75, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.39 and a beta of 1.02. Mastercard Incorporated has a twelve month low of $428.86 and a twelve month high of $594.71.

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 (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $3.57 by $0.16. Mastercard had a net margin of 45.21% and a return on equity of 196.87%. The firm had revenue of $7.25 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.12 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $3.31 EPS. Mastercard's revenue was up 14.2% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, 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 will be paid on Friday, August 8th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, July 9th will be paid a dividend of $0.76 per share. This represents a $3.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.55%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, July 9th. Mastercard's dividend payout ratio is presently 21.32%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts recently commented on MA shares. Royal Bank Of Canada reiterated an "outperform" rating and issued a $650.00 price objective on shares of Mastercard in a research note on Tuesday, July 15th. KeyCorp raised their price objective on shares of Mastercard from $630.00 to $635.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, May 2nd. Wolfe Research set a $655.00 price objective on shares of Mastercard in a research note on Monday, June 23rd. The Goldman Sachs Group restated a "buy" rating and set a $633.00 target price on shares of Mastercard in a research report on Wednesday, April 2nd. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft assumed coverage on shares of Mastercard in a research report on Thursday. They set a "buy" rating and a $650.00 target price for the company. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-five have given a buy rating and three have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $612.90.

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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