Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC Purchases 52,850 Shares of Mastercard Incorporated $MA

Key Points

• Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC increased its holdings in Mastercard by 16.7% during the second quarter, owning 369,640 shares valued at approximately $210 million.
• Several other institutional investors also raised their stakes in Mastercard, contributing to a collective ownership of 97.28% by hedge funds and large investors.
• Mastercard's recent earnings report showed an EPS of $4.15, exceeding expectations, and the company plans to distribute a quarterly dividend of $0.76 per share.

Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC increased its stake in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA - Free Report) by 16.7% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 369,640 shares of the credit services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 52,850 shares during the quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC's holdings in Mastercard were worth $210,414,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Flaharty Asset Management LLC acquired a new stake in Mastercard in the 1st quarter valued at about $27,000. Keystone Global Partners LLC acquired a new stake in Mastercard in the 1st quarter valued at about $31,000. 10Elms LLP acquired a new stake in Mastercard in the 4th quarter valued at about $33,000. Hughes Financial Services LLC acquired a new stake in Mastercard in the 1st quarter valued at about $34,000. Finally, Mpwm Advisory Solutions LLC acquired a new stake in Mastercard in the 4th quarter valued at about $36,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 97.28% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Mastercard news, Director Julius Genachowski sold 312 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, July 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $570.67, for a total transaction of $178,049.04. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 8,469 shares of the company's stock, valued at $4,833,004.23. This represents a 3.55% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Raj Seshadri sold 1,100 shares of the 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 completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 12,921 shares of the company's stock, valued at $7,064,815.17. This represents a 7.85% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 38,717 shares of company stock worth $22,684,831 over the last ninety days. Company insiders own 0.09% of the company's stock.

Mastercard Stock Up 0.1%

Shares of MA traded up $0.48 during trading hours on Monday, reaching $584.64. The company's stock had a trading volume of 3,241,619 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,498,610. The firm has a market cap of $528.52 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 39.42, a P/E/G ratio of 2.39 and a beta of 0.99. Mastercard Incorporated has a 1-year low of $465.59 and a 1-year high of $601.77. The company has a quick ratio of 1.16, a current ratio of 1.16 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.41. The company has a 50 day moving average of $577.86 and a two-hundred day moving average of $559.42.

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

Mastercard Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 7th. Investors of record on Thursday, October 9th will be issued 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 is currently 20.50%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on the stock. UBS Group upped their price target on shares of Mastercard from $660.00 to $670.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, June 3rd. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Mastercard from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, July 18th. TD Cowen restated a "buy" rating and set a $645.00 price objective on shares of Mastercard in a report on Monday, August 11th. Royal Bank Of Canada boosted their price objective on Mastercard from $650.00 to $656.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday, August 1st. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft began coverage on Mastercard in a report on Thursday, July 17th. They set a "buy" rating and a $650.00 price objective on the stock. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-four have issued a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Mastercard presently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and an average price target of $630.89.

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.