Brasada Capital Management LP Reduces Stock Holdings in Mastercard Incorporated $MA

Key Points

• Brasada Capital Management LP has reduced its holdings in Mastercard by 2.0%, now owning 21,416 shares valued at approximately $11.74 million, making it the firm's 13th largest investment.
• Insider sales of Mastercard stock included Raj Seshadri and Linda Pistecchia Kirkpatrick, who sold 1,100 and 958 shares respectively, representing decreases in their ownership stakes of 7.85% and 3.90%.
• Mastercard's recent quarterly earnings topped analysts' expectations, with reported earnings per share of $4.15, compared to forecasts of $4.05, and revenue of $8.13 billion exceeding estimates of $7.95 billion.

Brasada Capital Management LP cut its position in shares of Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA - Free Report) by 2.0% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 21,416 shares of the credit services provider's stock after selling 438 shares during the period. Mastercard makes up 2.2% of Brasada Capital Management LP's portfolio, making the stock its 13th largest holding. Brasada Capital Management LP's holdings in Mastercard were worth $11,739,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in MA. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its stake in shares of Mastercard by 65,631.5% during the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 8,225,637 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $4,508,636,000 after purchasing an additional 8,213,123 shares during the period. Nuveen LLC purchased a new position in shares of Mastercard during the 1st quarter worth about $4,238,764,000. Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its stake in shares of Mastercard by 38.6% during the 1st quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 13,526,118 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $7,413,936,000 after purchasing an additional 3,765,378 shares during the period. Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH purchased a new position in shares of Mastercard during the 4th quarter worth about $561,313,000. Finally, Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD boosted its stake in shares of Mastercard by 4.7% during the 1st quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 20,096,979 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $11,015,557,000 after purchasing an additional 907,184 shares during the period. 97.28% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on the stock. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Mastercard from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, July 18th. KeyCorp boosted their price objective on shares of Mastercard from $635.00 to $660.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, August 1st. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on shares of Mastercard from $625.00 to $650.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, August 1st. The Goldman Sachs Group restated a "buy" rating on shares of Mastercard in a report on Friday, August 1st. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group restated a "buy" rating on shares of Mastercard in a report on Friday, June 6th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-four have given a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $623.03.

Mastercard Stock Up 0.1%

Shares of NYSE MA traded up $0.74 during trading hours on Wednesday, hitting $592.61. 1,959,321 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,786,423. The company has a quick ratio of 1.16, a current ratio of 1.16 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.41. The company has a market cap of $535.73 billion, a PE ratio of 39.96, a PEG ratio of 2.44 and a beta of 0.99. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $570.13 and a 200-day moving average price of $557.03. Mastercard Incorporated has a 12 month low of $465.59 and a 12 month high of $601.77.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 31st. The credit services provider reported $4.15 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $4.05 by $0.10. Mastercard had a net margin of 44.93% and a return on equity of 200.01%. The business had revenue of $8.13 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.95 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $3.50 EPS. Mastercard's revenue for the quarter was up 16.8% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Mastercard Incorporated will post 15.91 EPS for the current year.

Mastercard Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 8th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, July 9th were paid a dividend of $0.76 per share. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, July 9th. This represents a $3.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.5%. Mastercard's dividend payout ratio is presently 20.50%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Mastercard

In other Mastercard news, insider Craig Vosburg sold 14,051 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, June 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $585.05, for a total transaction of $8,220,537.55. Following the transaction, the insider owned 58,451 shares in the company, valued at approximately $34,196,757.55. This represents a 19.38% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, 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 transaction, the director owned 8,469 shares in the company, valued at $4,833,004.23. The trade was a 3.55% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 56,269 shares of company stock worth $30,634,699 in the last three months. 0.09% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.