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

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

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Founders Financial Alliance LLC boosted its stake in shares of Mastercard by 2.9% during the fourth quarter. Founders Financial Alliance LLC now owns 676 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $356,000 after purchasing an additional 19 shares in the last quarter. BlackDiamond Wealth Management LLC lifted its position in Mastercard by 2.3% during the fourth quarter. BlackDiamond Wealth Management LLC now owns 846 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $445,000 after acquiring an additional 19 shares during the last quarter. Fi3 FINANCIAL ADVISORS LLC lifted its position in Mastercard by 2.6% during the fourth quarter. Fi3 FINANCIAL ADVISORS LLC now owns 736 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $388,000 after acquiring an additional 19 shares during the last quarter. Strategy Asset Managers LLC lifted its position in Mastercard by 2.1% during the fourth quarter. Strategy Asset Managers LLC now owns 911 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $480,000 after acquiring an additional 19 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Phillips Wealth Planners LLC lifted its position in Mastercard by 1.8% during the first quarter. Phillips Wealth Planners LLC now owns 1,055 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $538,000 after acquiring an additional 19 shares during the last quarter. 97.28% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

MA has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Mastercard from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Saturday, June 14th. Citigroup increased their target price on shares of Mastercard from $650.00 to $652.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, May 5th. UBS Group increased their target price on shares of Mastercard from $660.00 to $670.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, June 3rd. Jefferies Financial Group reaffirmed a "buy" rating on shares of Mastercard in a report on Friday, June 6th. Finally, Macquarie lowered their price objective on shares of Mastercard from $645.00 to $610.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, May 2nd. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-four have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $611.50.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Raj Seshadri sold 1,100 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, June 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $546.77, for a total value of $601,447.00. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 12,921 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $7,064,815.17. The trade was a 7.85% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Julius Genachowski sold 312 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the director directly owned 8,469 shares in the company, 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 38,753 shares of company stock valued at $20,351,084 over the last three months. 0.09% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Mastercard Price Performance

Shares of NYSE MA traded down $13.48 during trading on Friday, hitting $550.04. The company had a trading volume of 3,221,317 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,666,716. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $568.42 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $547.76. Mastercard Incorporated has a fifty-two week low of $428.86 and a fifty-two week high of $594.71. The firm has a market capitalization of $501.48 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 38.57, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.39 and a beta of 1.02. The company has a quick ratio of 1.11, a current ratio of 1.11 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.81.

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 the consensus estimate of $3.57 by $0.16. Mastercard had a net margin of 45.21% and a return on equity of 196.87%. The business had revenue of $7.25 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.12 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $3.31 earnings per share. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 14.2% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts expect that Mastercard Incorporated will post 15.91 earnings per share for the current year.

Mastercard Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced 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 is Wednesday, July 9th. Mastercard's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 21.32%.

Mastercard Company 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.