Stratos Investment Management LLC Has $10.60 Million Stock Holdings in Mastercard Incorporated $MA

Stratos Investment Management LLC lifted its position in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) by 2.7% during the second quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 18,859 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 487 shares during the period. Stratos Investment Management LLC’s holdings in Mastercard were worth $10,598,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in shares of Mastercard by 0.5% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 77,544,675 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $42,503,787,000 after acquiring an additional 365,537 shares during the period. Kingstone Capital Partners Texas LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Mastercard in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $11,421,213,000. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD raised its position in shares of Mastercard by 4.7% in the 1st quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 20,096,979 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $11,015,557,000 after acquiring an additional 907,184 shares during the period. Wellington Management Group LLP raised its position in shares of Mastercard by 38.6% in the 1st quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 13,526,118 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $7,413,936,000 after acquiring an additional 3,765,378 shares during the period. Finally, Nuveen LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Mastercard in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $4,238,764,000. 97.28% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity

In other news, CFO J. Mehra Sachin sold 17,263 shares of Mastercard stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, September 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $591.00, for a total value of $10,202,433.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 31,234 shares in the company, valued at $18,459,294. This trade represents a 35.60% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 0.09% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Mastercard Price Performance

NYSE MA opened at $549.67 on Friday. 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 Incorporated has a 12-month low of $465.59 and a 12-month high of $601.77. The company has a market capitalization of $496.91 billion, a PE ratio of 37.06, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.31 and a beta of 0.97. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $580.48 and its 200-day moving average is $563.07.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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 net margin of 44.93% and a return on equity of 200.01%. The company had revenue of $8.13 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.95 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $3.50 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 16.8% compared to the same quarter last year. 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 disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 7th. Stockholders 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 dividend yield of 0.6%. Mastercard’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 20.50%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts recently weighed in on MA shares. TD Cowen reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $645.00 price target on shares of Mastercard in a research report on Monday, August 11th. Seaport Res Ptn raised Mastercard from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday, July 14th. Robert W. Baird increased their target price on Mastercard from $640.00 to $660.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, October 6th. The Goldman Sachs Group reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Mastercard in a research note on Friday, August 1st. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada increased their target price on Mastercard from $650.00 to $656.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, August 1st. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-five have assigned a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $634.04.

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.