Strs Ohio Takes Position in Mastercard Incorporated $MA

Key Points

• Strs Ohio acquired a new stake in Mastercard Incorporated, purchasing 586,262 shares valued at approximately $321 million, making it the firm's 7th largest position.
• Recent insider activity includes Craig Vosburg selling 9,428 shares and CFO J. Mehra Sachin selling 17,816 shares, both resulting in notable decreases in their respective ownership stakes.
• Analysts have increased their price targets for Mastercard, with an average target of $626.54 and a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy."

Strs Ohio bought a new position in shares of Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA - Free Report) in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 586,262 shares of the credit services provider's stock, valued at approximately $321,342,000. Mastercard comprises approximately 1.3% of Strs Ohio's investment portfolio, making the stock its 7th largest position. Strs Ohio owned about 0.06% of Mastercard at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of MA. Ethos Financial Group LLC increased its position in Mastercard by 19.5% during the 1st quarter. Ethos Financial Group LLC now owns 3,174 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $1,683,000 after purchasing an additional 518 shares in the last quarter. Fortis Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Mastercard by 9.4% in the 1st quarter. Fortis Advisors LLC now owns 871 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $477,000 after acquiring an additional 75 shares during the last quarter. Canandaigua National Trust Co of Florida lifted its stake in shares of Mastercard by 36.4% in the 1st quarter. Canandaigua National Trust Co of Florida now owns 693 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $380,000 after acquiring an additional 185 shares during the last quarter. Kingswood Wealth Advisors LLC grew its position in Mastercard by 18.0% during the 1st quarter. Kingswood Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 6,870 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $3,766,000 after acquiring an additional 1,047 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Kornitzer Capital Management Inc. KS grew its position in Mastercard by 2.8% during the 1st quarter. Kornitzer Capital Management Inc. KS now owns 22,640 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $12,409,000 after acquiring an additional 612 shares during the last quarter. 97.28% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Mastercard

In other news, CFO J. Mehra Sachin sold 17,816 shares of Mastercard stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $586.89, for a total transaction of $10,456,032.24. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 31,234 shares in the company, valued at $18,330,922.26. This trade represents a 36.32% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Julius Genachowski sold 312 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $570.67, for a total transaction of $178,049.04. Following the sale, the director directly owned 8,469 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $4,833,004.23. The trade was a 3.55% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 49,094 shares of company stock valued at $26,521,861. Corporate insiders own 0.09% of the company's stock.

Mastercard Stock Down 1.4%

MA stock traded down $7.98 during trading on Friday, reaching $580.75. 2,242,737 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,201,603. The firm's 50 day moving average is $574.60 and its 200 day moving average is $558.35. The firm has a market cap of $525.00 billion, a P/E ratio of 39.16, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.41 and a beta of 0.99. The company has a current ratio of 1.16, a quick ratio of 1.16 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.41. Mastercard Incorporated has a twelve month low of $465.59 and a twelve month high of $601.77.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 31st. The credit services provider reported $4.15 EPS 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 during 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 company's quarterly revenue was up 16.8% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts forecast that Mastercard Incorporated will post 15.91 EPS for the current year.

Mastercard Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 8th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, July 9th were issued a dividend of $0.76 per share. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, July 9th. This represents a $3.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.5%. Mastercard's dividend payout ratio is presently 20.50%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have recently weighed in on MA. Wolfe Research set a $655.00 price target on Mastercard in a report on Monday, June 23rd. Jefferies Financial Group reissued a "buy" rating on shares of Mastercard in a report on Friday, June 6th. KeyCorp raised their price target on shares of Mastercard from $635.00 to $660.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, August 1st. UBS Group boosted their price objective on shares of Mastercard from $660.00 to $670.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 3rd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on Mastercard from $625.00 to $650.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, August 1st. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-four have issued a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $626.54.

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.