Allen Investment Management LLC Sells 1,192 Shares of Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA)

Key Points

• Allen Investment Management LLC has reduced its stake in Mastercard by 2.3%, now holding 50,847 shares worth approximately $27.87 million.
• Mastercard has received several positive ratings from analysts, with a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $612.90.
• The company recently reported better-than-expected earnings with a net margin of 45.21% and quarterly revenue growth of 14.2% year-over-year.

Allen Investment Management LLC trimmed its stake in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA - Free Report) by 2.3% during the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 50,847 shares of the credit services provider's stock after selling 1,192 shares during the period. Allen Investment Management LLC's holdings in Mastercard were worth $27,870,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Accredited Investors Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Mastercard by 2.6% in the 1st quarter. Accredited Investors Inc. now owns 718 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $394,000 after purchasing an additional 18 shares in the last quarter. Strategy Asset Managers LLC increased its holdings in Mastercard by 2.1% during the 4th quarter. Strategy Asset Managers LLC now owns 911 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $480,000 after acquiring an additional 19 shares in the last quarter. Phillips Wealth Planners LLC boosted 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 worth $538,000 after purchasing an additional 19 shares during the last quarter. Alta Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Mastercard by 3.6% during the 1st quarter. Alta Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 540 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $296,000 after purchasing an additional 19 shares during the last quarter. Finally, May Hill Capital LLC boosted its stake in shares of Mastercard by 2.0% during the 1st quarter. May Hill Capital LLC now owns 986 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $540,000 after purchasing an additional 19 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 97.28% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Linda Pistecchia Kirkpatrick sold 958 shares of the company's stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the insider directly owned 23,624 shares in the company, valued at $13,229,440. This represents a 3.90% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, insider Raj Seshadri sold 1,100 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Friday, June 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $546.77, for a total transaction of $601,447.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 12,921 shares in the company, valued at $7,064,815.17. This trade represents a 7.85% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 38,753 shares of company stock valued at $20,351,084 over the last three months. Corporate insiders own 0.09% of the company's stock.

Mastercard Stock Down 0.3%

MA stock traded down $1.91 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, hitting $561.41. 1,320,653 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,806,883. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $564.93 and a 200 day simple moving average of $550.91. The company has a current ratio of 1.11, a quick ratio of 1.11 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.81. Mastercard Incorporated has a twelve month low of $439.59 and a twelve month high of $594.71. The company has a market capitalization of $511.84 billion, a PE ratio of 39.42, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.46 and a beta of 1.02.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 1st. The credit services provider reported $3.73 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $3.57 by $0.16. The company had revenue of $7.25 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.12 billion. Mastercard had a net margin of 45.21% and a return on equity of 196.87%. Mastercard's revenue was up 14.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $3.31 EPS. On average, research analysts forecast that Mastercard Incorporated will post 15.91 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Mastercard Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 8th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, July 9th will be paid a $0.76 dividend. This represents a $3.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.54%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, July 9th. Mastercard's payout ratio is 21.32%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on MA. KeyCorp boosted their price target on shares of Mastercard from $630.00 to $635.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, May 2nd. UBS Group increased their price objective on Mastercard from $660.00 to $670.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 3rd. The Goldman Sachs Group restated a "buy" rating and issued a $633.00 target price on shares of Mastercard in a research note on Wednesday, April 2nd. Citigroup raised their price target on Mastercard from $650.00 to $652.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, May 5th. Finally, Monness Crespi & Hardt lowered Mastercard from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 9th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-five have given a buy rating and three have assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $612.90.

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.