Strathmore Capital Advisors Inc. Makes New Investment in Mastercard Incorporated $MA

Key Points

• Strathmore Capital Advisors Inc. has invested $695,000 in Mastercard, purchasing 1,230 shares during the second quarter, according to a recent SEC filing.
• Mastercard's stock has garnered a consensus rating of "Buy" from analysts, with price targets ranging between $625.00 and $670.00 following positive earnings results.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend of $0.76 per share, set to be paid on November 7th, with a 0.5% dividend yield and a payout ratio of 20.50%.

Strathmore Capital Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA - Free Report) in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund acquired 1,230 shares of the credit services provider's stock, valued at approximately $695,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in MA. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its stake in Mastercard by 65,631.5% during the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 8,225,637 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $4,508,636,000 after purchasing an additional 8,213,123 shares during the period. Nuveen LLC purchased a new stake in Mastercard in the first quarter valued at about $4,238,764,000. Wellington Management Group LLP increased its holdings in shares of Mastercard by 38.6% in the first quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 13,526,118 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $7,413,936,000 after purchasing an additional 3,765,378 shares during the period. Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH acquired a new stake in Mastercard during the fourth quarter worth about $561,313,000. Finally, Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD boosted its position in Mastercard by 4.7% during the first quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 20,096,979 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $11,015,557,000 after purchasing an additional 907,184 shares in the last quarter. 97.28% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Mastercard Price Performance

Shares of Mastercard stock traded down $2.17 on Friday, reaching $583.88. 6,744,713 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,280,804. Mastercard Incorporated has a one year low of $465.59 and a one year high of $601.77. 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 firm's 50 day moving average is $577.23 and its 200-day moving average is $559.09. The firm has a market cap of $527.83 billion, a PE ratio of 39.37, a P/E/G ratio of 2.40 and a beta of 0.99.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 31st. The credit services provider reported $4.15 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $4.05 by $0.10. The business had revenue of $8.13 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.95 billion. Mastercard had a net margin of 44.93% and a return on equity of 200.01%. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 16.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $3.50 earnings per share. As a group, analysts anticipate that Mastercard Incorporated will post 15.91 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Mastercard Dividend Announcement

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have recently weighed in on MA. Wall Street Zen raised Mastercard from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, July 18th. UBS Group upped their price target on Mastercard from $660.00 to $670.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, June 3rd. The Goldman Sachs Group reissued a "buy" rating on shares of Mastercard in a research note on Friday, August 1st. KeyCorp raised their price objective on Mastercard from $635.00 to $660.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, August 1st. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group reaffirmed a "buy" rating on shares of Mastercard in a report on Friday, June 6th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-four have issued a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and a consensus target price of $630.89.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Mastercard news, Director Julius Genachowski sold 312 shares of Mastercard stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $570.67, for a total value of $178,049.04. Following the transaction, the director owned 8,469 shares in the company, valued at $4,833,004.23. The trade was a 3.55% 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 Linda Pistecchia Kirkpatrick sold 958 shares of the company's 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 owned 23,624 shares in the company, valued at approximately $13,229,440. This represents a 3.90% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 38,717 shares of company stock worth $22,684,831. 0.09% of the stock is currently owned by company 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.