Avantax Advisory Services Inc. Has $9.69 Million Stake in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA)

Avantax Advisory Services Inc. grew its position in shares of Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) by 6.9% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 20,119 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after buying an additional 1,296 shares during the quarter. Avantax Advisory Services Inc.’s holdings in Mastercard were worth $9,689,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Altshuler Shaham Ltd bought a new stake in shares of Mastercard during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $26,000. VitalStone Financial LLC grew its position in Mastercard by 300.0% in the fourth quarter. VitalStone Financial LLC now owns 60 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $26,000 after acquiring an additional 45 shares during the period. LFA Lugano Financial Advisors SA bought a new stake in Mastercard in the fourth quarter valued at $27,000. Westend Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in Mastercard in the first quarter valued at $27,000. Finally, Palisade Asset Management LLC bought a new stake in Mastercard in the first quarter valued at $27,000. 97.28% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Craig Vosburg sold 9,028 shares of Mastercard stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, June 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $447.28, for a total value of $4,038,043.84. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 58,940 shares in the company, valued at $26,362,683.20. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. In related news, major shareholder Foundation Mastercard sold 111,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, April 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $457.15, for a total transaction of $50,743,650.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 97,432,308 shares in the company, valued at approximately $44,541,179,602.20. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Craig Vosburg sold 9,028 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, June 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $447.28, for a total value of $4,038,043.84. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 58,940 shares in the company, valued at approximately $26,362,683.20. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 3,163,228 shares of company stock valued at $1,428,540,870 over the last 90 days. Insiders own 0.10% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have weighed in on MA. Morgan Stanley lowered their price target on Mastercard from $536.00 to $524.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, May 2nd. Mizuho cut their target price on Mastercard from $480.00 to $478.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, May 2nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price target on Mastercard from $520.00 to $510.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, May 2nd. Evercore ISI lowered their price target on Mastercard from $540.00 to $525.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, June 25th. Finally, TD Cowen began coverage on Mastercard in a report on Thursday, April 11th. They set a “buy” rating and a $545.00 price objective for the company. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-three have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Mastercard currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $498.57.

Mastercard Price Performance

Shares of MA traded up $5.72 during midday trading on Wednesday, hitting $449.25. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 1,128,695 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,472,896. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $448.95 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $454.98. Mastercard Incorporated has a one year low of $359.77 and a one year high of $490.00. The company has a quick ratio of 1.09, a current ratio of 1.09 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.86. The stock has a market capitalization of $417.63 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 35.65, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.75 and a beta of 1.09.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, May 1st. The credit services provider reported $3.31 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.22 by $0.09. The company had revenue of $6.35 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.34 billion. Mastercard had a return on equity of 183.70% and a net margin of 46.09%. Mastercard’s quarterly revenue was up 10.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $2.80 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts expect that Mastercard Incorporated will post 14.26 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Mastercard Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 9th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, July 9th will be paid a dividend of $0.66 per share. This represents a $2.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.59%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, July 9th. Mastercard’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 20.99%.

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.