Focus Partners Advisor Solutions LLC Grows Stake in Mastercard Incorporated $MA

Focus Partners Advisor Solutions LLC grew its position in shares of Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) by 9.2% in the second quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 13,199 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,114 shares during the period. Focus Partners Advisor Solutions LLC’s holdings in Mastercard were worth $7,411,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. LGT Financial Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Mastercard during the 2nd quarter valued at about $25,000. Family Legacy Financial Solutions LLC bought a new position in shares of Mastercard during the 2nd quarter valued at about $26,000. Flaharty Asset Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Mastercard during the 1st quarter valued at about $27,000. Keystone Global Partners LLC bought a new position in shares of Mastercard during the 1st quarter valued at about $31,000. Finally, IMG Wealth Management Inc. bought a new position in shares of Mastercard during the 2nd quarter valued at about $31,000. 97.28% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Mastercard

In other Mastercard news, CFO J. Mehra Sachin sold 17,816 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $586.89, for a total transaction of $10,456,032.24. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 31,234 shares in the company, valued at approximately $18,330,922.26. This represents a 36.32% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.09% of the company’s stock.

Mastercard Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:MA opened at $573.72 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $518.65 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 38.69, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.35 and a beta of 0.97. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $579.51 and a 200-day moving average price of $565.40. The company has a current ratio of 1.16, a quick ratio of 1.16 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.41. Mastercard Incorporated has a 12 month low of $465.59 and a 12 month high of $601.77.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 31st. The credit services provider reported $4.15 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.05 by $0.10. Mastercard had a net margin of 44.93% and a return on equity of 200.01%. The company had revenue of $8.13 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.95 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $3.50 earnings per share. Mastercard’s revenue was up 16.8% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities 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, November 7th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, October 9th will be issued a dividend of $0.76 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, October 9th. This represents a $3.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.5%. Mastercard’s dividend payout ratio is 20.50%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have recently commented on MA. Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on Mastercard from $639.00 to $661.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, August 1st. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Mastercard in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. Royal Bank Of Canada lifted 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. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft initiated coverage on Mastercard in a research report on Thursday, July 17th. They set a “buy” rating and a $650.00 price target on the stock. Finally, TD Cowen reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $645.00 price objective on shares of Mastercard in a research report on Monday, August 11th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-two have given a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $638.96.

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.