Axxcess Wealth Management LLC Trims Stake in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA)

Axxcess Wealth Management LLC cut its holdings in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA - Free Report) by 9.5% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 13,464 shares of the credit services provider's stock after selling 1,411 shares during the period. Axxcess Wealth Management LLC's holdings in Mastercard were worth $7,380,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Measured Risk Portfolios Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Mastercard during the fourth quarter valued at about $31,000. Navigoe LLC purchased a new position in shares of Mastercard during the fourth quarter valued at about $33,000. 10Elms LLP purchased a new position in shares of Mastercard during the fourth quarter valued at about $33,000. Truvestments Capital LLC increased its position in shares of Mastercard by 62.5% during the fourth quarter. Truvestments Capital LLC now owns 65 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $34,000 after buying an additional 25 shares during the period. Finally, Mpwm Advisory Solutions LLC purchased a new position in shares of Mastercard during the fourth quarter valued at about $36,000. 97.28% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Mastercard

In other Mastercard news, Director Julius Genachowski sold 312 shares of the company'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 transaction of $178,049.04. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 8,469 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $4,833,004.23. This represents a 3.55% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider Craig Vosburg sold 9,428 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, June 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $353.05, for a total transaction of $3,328,555.40. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 58,451 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $20,636,125.55. This represents a 13.89% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 38,753 shares of company stock valued at $20,351,084 in the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 0.09% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages recently issued reports on MA. Wolfe Research set a $655.00 price target on shares of Mastercard in a research report on Monday, June 23rd. Monness Crespi & Hardt lowered shares of Mastercard from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 9th. Jefferies Financial Group reissued a "buy" rating on shares of Mastercard in a research note on Friday, June 6th. Evercore ISI assumed coverage on shares of Mastercard in a research note on Wednesday, April 9th. They set an "in-line" rating and a $550.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, Citigroup boosted their price objective on shares of Mastercard from $650.00 to $652.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, May 5th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-four have issued a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $611.50.

Mastercard Stock Performance

Mastercard stock traded down $0.77 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $564.34. 2,577,223 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,669,861. The firm has a market capitalization of $514.51 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 39.57, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.45 and a beta of 1.02. The business has a 50 day moving average of $568.60 and a two-hundred day moving average of $547.57. Mastercard Incorporated has a 12 month low of $428.86 and a 12 month high of $594.71. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.81, a current ratio of 1.11 and a quick ratio of 1.11.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 1st. The credit services provider reported $3.73 earnings per share for the quarter, beating 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%. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 14.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $3.31 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts predict that Mastercard Incorporated will post 15.91 earnings per share for the current year.

Mastercard Announces Dividend

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

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.