Applied Finance Capital Management LLC Trims Position in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA)

Key Points

• Applied Finance Capital Management LLC reduced its stake in Mastercard by 49.6%, leaving it with 50,320 shares, making it the firm's 13th largest position.
• A variety of hedge funds have recently altered their positions in Mastercard, with over 97% of the stock currently owned by institutional investors.
• Mastercard's recent quarterly earnings showed an EPS of $3.73, surpassing expectations, while the company announced a quarterly dividend of $0.76 per share.

Applied Finance Capital Management LLC lessened its stake in shares of Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA - Free Report) by 49.6% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 50,320 shares of the credit services provider's stock after selling 49,618 shares during the period. Mastercard accounts for about 2.0% of Applied Finance Capital Management LLC's portfolio, making the stock its 13th biggest position. Applied Finance Capital Management LLC's holdings in Mastercard were worth $27,581,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Accredited Investors Inc. increased its stake 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 during the last quarter. Strategy Asset Managers LLC increased its stake in shares of Mastercard by 2.1% in the 4th quarter. Strategy Asset Managers LLC now owns 911 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $480,000 after purchasing an additional 19 shares during the last quarter. Phillips Wealth Planners LLC increased its stake in shares of Mastercard by 1.8% in the 1st quarter. Phillips Wealth Planners LLC now owns 1,055 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $538,000 after purchasing an additional 19 shares during the last quarter. Alta Wealth Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Mastercard by 3.6% in the 1st quarter. Alta Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 540 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $296,000 after purchasing an additional 19 shares during the last quarter. Finally, May Hill Capital LLC increased its stake in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 19 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 97.28% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Mastercard

In related news, insider Linda Pistecchia Kirkpatrick sold 959 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, June 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $572.86, for a total value of $549,372.74. Following the transaction, the insider owned 25,540 shares of the company's stock, valued at $14,630,844.40. This represents a 3.62% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider Raj Seshadri sold 1,100 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, June 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $546.77, for a total value of $601,447.00. Following the completion of the transaction, 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. In the last three months, insiders have sold 38,753 shares of company stock worth $20,351,084. 0.09% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Mastercard Price Performance

Mastercard stock traded down $1.27 during midday trading on Wednesday, reaching $562.06. The company had a trading volume of 1,197,842 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,806,154. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.81, a current ratio of 1.11 and a quick ratio of 1.11. The firm's fifty day simple moving average is $564.93 and its 200-day simple moving average is $550.91. Mastercard Incorporated has a 12-month low of $439.59 and a 12-month high of $594.71. The company has a market capitalization of $512.43 billion, a P/E ratio of 39.40, a P/E/G 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, beating the consensus estimate of $3.57 by $0.16. The firm had revenue of $7.25 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.12 billion. Mastercard had a net margin of 45.21% and a return on equity of 196.87%. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 14.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $3.31 EPS. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Mastercard Incorporated will post 15.91 EPS for the current year.

Mastercard Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 8th. Investors of record on Wednesday, July 9th will be issued a $0.76 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, July 9th. This represents a $3.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.54%. Mastercard's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 21.32%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

MA has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Wolfe Research set a $655.00 price target on Mastercard in a research note on Monday, June 23rd. UBS Group lifted their price target on Mastercard from $660.00 to $670.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 3rd. Evercore ISI began coverage on Mastercard in a report on Wednesday, April 9th. They set an "in-line" rating and a $550.00 price objective on the stock. Wall Street Zen raised Mastercard from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, July 18th. Finally, Macquarie cut their target price on Mastercard from $645.00 to $610.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, May 2nd. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-five have given a buy rating and three have given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Mastercard has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $612.90.

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.