Blair William & Co. IL Trims Stake in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA)

Key Points

• Blair William & Co. IL reduced its stake in Mastercard by 1.8% during the first quarter, holding 1,020,695 shares at a value of approximately $559 million, representing about 1.7% of its investment portfolio.
• Mastercard recently reported a quarterly earnings per share of $4.15, surpassing analysts' estimates, with a significant year-over-year revenue increase of 16.8% to $8.13 billion.
• The stock ratings for Mastercard are largely positive, with twenty-five analysts issuing a buy rating, resulting in a consensus price target of $615.33.

Blair William & Co. IL cut its position in shares of Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA - Free Report) by 1.8% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 1,020,695 shares of the credit services provider's stock after selling 18,996 shares during the quarter. Mastercard accounts for about 1.7% of Blair William & Co. IL's investment portfolio, making the stock its 7th largest holding. Blair William & Co. IL owned about 0.11% of Mastercard worth $559,464,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in MA. Measured Risk Portfolios Inc. bought a new stake in Mastercard in the fourth quarter valued at $31,000. Navigoe LLC bought a new stake in Mastercard in the fourth quarter valued at $33,000. 10Elms LLP bought a new stake in Mastercard in the fourth quarter valued at $33,000. Hughes Financial Services LLC bought a new stake in Mastercard in the first quarter valued at $34,000. Finally, Mpwm Advisory Solutions LLC bought a new stake in Mastercard in the fourth quarter valued at $36,000. 97.28% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on MA shares. Wolfe Research set a $655.00 target price on Mastercard in a research note on Monday, June 23rd. Citigroup raised their target price on Mastercard from $650.00 to $652.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, May 5th. Jefferies Financial Group reiterated a "buy" rating on shares of Mastercard in a research note on Friday, June 6th. Seaport Res Ptn upgraded shares of Mastercard from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Monday, July 14th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group restated a "buy" rating on shares of Mastercard in a research note on Friday. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-five have issued a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $615.33.

Mastercard Stock Down 1.2%

Shares of MA stock opened at $559.73 on Friday. The stock's 50 day simple moving average is $564.58 and its 200 day simple moving average is $551.95. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.41, a quick ratio of 1.11 and a current ratio of 1.16. 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 $510.31 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 37.74, a PEG ratio of 2.43 and a beta of 1.03.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 31st. The credit services provider reported $4.15 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $4.05 by $0.10. Mastercard had a return on equity of 200.01% and a net margin of 44.93%. The business 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 business earned $3.50 EPS. The firm's revenue was up 16.8% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts predict that Mastercard Incorporated will post 15.91 EPS for the current year.

Mastercard Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 8th. Investors 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 0.5%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, July 9th. Mastercard's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 21.32%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Mastercard news, insider Linda Pistecchia Kirkpatrick sold 959 shares of Mastercard stock in a transaction that occurred 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 directly owned 25,540 shares of the company's stock, valued at $14,630,844.40. The trade was a 3.62% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Raj Seshadri sold 1,100 shares of Mastercard stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, June 27th. The stock was 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 approximately $7,064,815.17. This represents a 7.85% 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 over the last 90 days. 0.09% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.

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