Wealth Advisory Solutions LLC Buys New Position in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA)

Wealth Advisory Solutions LLC acquired a new stake in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA - Free Report) in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund acquired 447 shares of the credit services provider's stock, valued at approximately $245,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Measured Risk Portfolios Inc. acquired a new stake in Mastercard in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Navigoe LLC acquired a new position in Mastercard during the fourth quarter worth $33,000. 10Elms LLP acquired a new position in Mastercard during the fourth quarter worth $33,000. Truvestments Capital LLC raised its position in Mastercard by 62.5% during the fourth quarter. Truvestments Capital LLC now owns 65 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $34,000 after acquiring an additional 25 shares during the period. Finally, Mpwm Advisory Solutions LLC acquired a new position in Mastercard during the fourth quarter worth $36,000. 97.28% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Mastercard Stock Down 0.1%

Shares of MA stock traded down $0.37 during trading on Thursday, reaching $564.74. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,002,572 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,671,838. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.81, a current ratio of 1.11 and a quick ratio of 1.11. The company has a market capitalization of $514.88 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 39.59, a P/E/G ratio of 2.44 and a beta of 1.02. The stock's 50-day moving average price is $568.25 and its 200 day moving average price is $547.33. Mastercard Incorporated has a 1-year low of $428.86 and a 1-year high of $594.71.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly 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. The company had revenue of $7.25 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.12 billion. Mastercard had a return on equity of 196.87% and a net margin of 45.21%. Mastercard's revenue for the quarter was up 14.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $3.31 EPS. On average, research analysts anticipate that Mastercard Incorporated will post 15.91 EPS for the current year.

Mastercard Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 8th. Investors of record on Wednesday, July 9th will be paid a dividend of $0.76 per share. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, July 9th. This represents a $3.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.54%. Mastercard's payout ratio is currently 21.32%.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Julius Genachowski sold 312 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Monday, July 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $570.67, for a total transaction of $178,049.04. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 8,469 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,833,004.23. The trade was a 3.55% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through 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 directly owned 12,921 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,064,815.17. The trade was a 7.85% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 38,753 shares of company stock worth $20,351,084. 0.09% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have issued reports on MA. KeyCorp lifted their target price on shares of Mastercard from $630.00 to $635.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, May 2nd. Jefferies Financial Group restated a "buy" rating on shares of Mastercard in a research report on Friday, June 6th. Evercore ISI initiated coverage on shares of Mastercard in a research report on Wednesday, April 9th. They set an "in-line" rating and a $550.00 price target on the stock. 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. Finally, Wolfe Research set a $655.00 price target on Mastercard in a report on Monday, June 23rd. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-four have issued a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $611.50.

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.