Park Avenue Securities LLC Buys Shares of 49,507 Mastercard Incorporated $MA

Park Avenue Securities LLC bought a new stake in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor bought 49,507 shares of the credit services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $27,820,000.

Several other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of MA. Ethos Financial Group LLC lifted its position in shares of Mastercard by 19.5% in the first quarter. Ethos Financial Group LLC now owns 3,174 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $1,683,000 after purchasing an additional 518 shares in the last quarter. Fortis Advisors LLC grew its stake in Mastercard by 9.4% in the first quarter. Fortis Advisors LLC now owns 871 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $477,000 after purchasing an additional 75 shares in the last quarter. Canandaigua National Trust Co of Florida raised its stake in shares of Mastercard by 36.4% during the 1st quarter. Canandaigua National Trust Co of Florida now owns 693 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $380,000 after purchasing an additional 185 shares in the last quarter. Kingswood Wealth Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Mastercard by 18.0% during the 1st quarter. Kingswood Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 6,870 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $3,766,000 after purchasing an additional 1,047 shares in the last quarter. Finally, YHB Investment Advisors Inc. increased its stake in shares of Mastercard by 2.1% during the 2nd quarter. YHB Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 4,251 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $2,389,000 after purchasing an additional 86 shares during the last quarter. 97.28% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Mastercard Price Performance

NYSE MA opened at $583.88 on Friday. Mastercard Incorporated has a 12-month low of $465.59 and a 12-month high of $601.77. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $577.23 and its 200-day moving average is $559.09. The company has a market capitalization of $527.83 billion, a PE ratio of 39.37, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.39 and a beta of 0.99. The company has a quick ratio of 1.16, a current ratio of 1.16 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.41.

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

Mastercard Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 7th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, October 9th will be paid a dividend of $0.76 per share. This represents a $3.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.5%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, October 9th. Mastercard’s payout ratio is currently 20.50%.

Insider Activity at Mastercard

In other Mastercard news, insider Linda Pistecchia Kirkpatrick sold 958 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $560.00, for a total transaction of $536,480.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 23,624 shares in the company, valued at $13,229,440. This trade represents a 3.90% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Julius Genachowski sold 312 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, July 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $570.67, for a total value of $178,049.04. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 8,469 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,833,004.23. This trade represents a 3.55% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 38,717 shares of company stock worth $22,684,831. 0.09% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on MA shares. Wall Street Zen upgraded Mastercard from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, July 18th. Truist Financial cut their target price on shares of Mastercard from $640.00 to $612.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, July 17th. Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on Mastercard from $639.00 to $661.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, August 1st. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft started coverage on shares of Mastercard in a report on Thursday, July 17th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $650.00 price target for the company. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Mastercard in a research note on Friday, June 6th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-four have assigned a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $630.89.

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.