Park Place Capital Corp Acquires 242 Shares of Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA)

Park Place Capital Corp increased its holdings in shares of Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) by 9.7% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 2,735 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 242 shares during the quarter. Park Place Capital Corp’s holdings in Mastercard were worth $1,317,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of MA. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in Mastercard by 1.0% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 75,253,734 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $32,096,470,000 after acquiring an additional 742,076 shares during the period. Capital International Investors lifted its holdings in Mastercard by 3.3% in the fourth quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 21,041,685 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $8,974,478,000 after acquiring an additional 676,452 shares during the period. Capital Research Global Investors lifted its holdings in Mastercard by 4.7% in the fourth quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 13,608,023 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $5,803,956,000 after acquiring an additional 605,909 shares during the period. Norges Bank bought a new position in Mastercard in the fourth quarter valued at about $4,595,559,000. Finally, Ameriprise Financial Inc. lifted its holdings in Mastercard by 5.9% in the third quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 5,510,259 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $2,181,964,000 after acquiring an additional 306,663 shares during the period. 97.28% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have weighed in on MA. Mizuho lowered their target price on Mastercard from $480.00 to $478.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, May 2nd. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on Mastercard from $490.00 to $530.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 6th. Robert W. Baird upped their price target on Mastercard from $525.00 to $545.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 18th. Morgan Stanley reduced their price target on Mastercard from $536.00 to $524.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, May 2nd. Finally, Susquehanna restated a “positive” rating and issued a $535.00 price target on shares of Mastercard in a research report on Wednesday, April 3rd. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-three have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Mastercard presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $496.91.

Insider Buying and Selling at Mastercard

In other Mastercard news, major shareholder Foundation Mastercard sold 138,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, June 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $453.19, for a total transaction of $62,540,220.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 92,152,308 shares in the company, valued at approximately $41,762,504,462.52. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. In other news, major shareholder Foundation Mastercard sold 138,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, June 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $453.19, for a total value of $62,540,220.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 92,152,308 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $41,762,504,462.52. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Sandra A. Arkell sold 300 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $454.00, for a total value of $136,200.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 3,463 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,572,202. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 3,163,228 shares of company stock worth $1,428,540,870 in the last quarter. 0.10% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Mastercard Price Performance

NYSE MA traded down $3.55 during trading on Monday, hitting $437.61. 2,883,885 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,466,282. The company has a market capitalization of $406.81 billion, a P/E ratio of 34.79, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.72 and a beta of 1.09. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $451.50 and a 200-day simple moving average of $453.31. The company has a quick ratio of 1.09, a current ratio of 1.09 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.86. Mastercard Incorporated has a 12-month low of $359.77 and a 12-month high of $490.00.

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

Mastercard Announces Dividend

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 issued a dividend of $0.66 per share. This represents a $2.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.60%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, July 9th. Mastercard’s dividend payout ratio is presently 20.99%.

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.