Wealth Advisory Solutions LLC Acquires New Stake in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA)

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

Other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Measured Risk Portfolios Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Mastercard in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Navigoe LLC acquired a new position in shares of Mastercard during the fourth quarter worth approximately $33,000. 10Elms LLP bought a new position in Mastercard in the fourth quarter valued at about $33,000. Truvestments Capital LLC boosted its holdings in Mastercard by 62.5% in the fourth quarter. Truvestments Capital LLC now owns 65 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $34,000 after acquiring an additional 25 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Mpwm Advisory Solutions LLC bought a new position in Mastercard in the fourth quarter valued at about $36,000. 97.28% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

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

Mastercard Stock Down 0.1%

Shares of NYSE:MA traded down $0.77 during trading on Thursday, hitting $564.34. 2,577,223 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,669,861. The stock has a market cap of $514.51 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 39.57, a P/E/G ratio of 2.45 and a beta of 1.02. Mastercard Incorporated has a fifty-two week low of $428.86 and a fifty-two week high of $594.71. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $568.60 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $547.57. The company has a current ratio of 1.11, a quick ratio of 1.11 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.81.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA - Get Free Report) last issued 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. The company had revenue of $7.25 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $7.12 billion. Mastercard had a net margin of 45.21% and a return on equity of 196.87%. Mastercard's quarterly revenue was up 14.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $3.31 EPS. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Mastercard Incorporated will post 15.91 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Mastercard Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 8th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, July 9th will be issued a $0.76 dividend. 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 21.32%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Mastercard news, insider Craig Vosburg sold 9,428 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Friday, June 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $353.05, for a total transaction of $3,328,555.40. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 58,451 shares of the company's stock, valued at $20,636,125.55. This trade represents a 13.89% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider Raj Seshadri sold 1,100 shares of the business'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 value of $601,447.00. Following the sale, the insider owned 12,921 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $7,064,815.17. This represents a 7.85% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 38,753 shares of company stock worth $20,351,084. Company insiders own 0.09% of the company's stock.

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.