KPP Advisory Services LLC Raises Position in Mastercard Incorporated $MA

KPP Advisory Services LLC boosted its position in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) by 6.6% during the 2nd quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 485 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 30 shares during the period. KPP Advisory Services LLC’s holdings in Mastercard were worth $273,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other large investors have also bought and sold shares of MA. Accredited Investors Inc. boosted its position in Mastercard by 2.6% during the first quarter. Accredited Investors Inc. now owns 718 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $394,000 after purchasing an additional 18 shares during the period. Wealthstream Advisors Inc. raised its position in shares of Mastercard by 2.9% in the first quarter. Wealthstream Advisors Inc. now owns 632 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $347,000 after purchasing an additional 18 shares during the period. Phillips Wealth Planners LLC lifted its stake in shares of Mastercard by 1.8% during the 1st quarter. Phillips Wealth Planners LLC now owns 1,055 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $538,000 after buying an additional 19 shares in the last quarter. Alta Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Mastercard by 3.6% in the 1st quarter. Alta Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 540 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $296,000 after buying an additional 19 shares during the period. Finally, May Hill Capital LLC grew its stake in Mastercard by 2.0% in the 1st quarter. May Hill Capital LLC now owns 986 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $540,000 after buying an additional 19 shares in the last quarter. 97.28% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on MA shares. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft started coverage on shares of Mastercard in a report on Thursday, July 17th. They set a “buy” rating and a $650.00 target price on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on Mastercard from $625.00 to $650.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, August 1st. KeyCorp raised their target price on Mastercard from $635.00 to $660.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, August 1st. Seaport Res Ptn upgraded Mastercard from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Monday, July 14th. Finally, Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Mastercard from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, September 26th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-five have given a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $634.04.

Insider Transactions at Mastercard

In related news, CFO J. Mehra Sachin sold 17,816 shares of the firm’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 directly owned 31,234 shares in the company, valued at $18,330,922.26. This trade represents a 36.32% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 0.09% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Mastercard Price Performance

Shares of Mastercard stock opened at $578.91 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.41, a quick ratio of 1.16 and a current ratio of 1.16. Mastercard Incorporated has a 52-week low of $465.59 and a 52-week high of $601.77. The company has a fifty day moving average of $580.46 and a 200-day moving average of $562.33. The stock has a market capitalization of $523.34 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 39.04, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.38 and a beta of 0.97.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 31st. The credit services provider reported $4.15 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $4.05 by $0.10. Mastercard had a net margin of 44.93% and a return on equity of 200.01%. The business had revenue of $8.13 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.95 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $3.50 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 16.8% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts expect that Mastercard Incorporated will post 15.91 EPS for the current year.

Mastercard Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 7th. Investors 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 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.5%. Mastercard’s dividend payout ratio is currently 20.50%.

Mastercard 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.