Mastercard Incorporated $MA Shares Sold by Claar Advisors LLC

Key Points

• Claar Advisors LLC sold 3,547 shares of Mastercard, reducing its stake by 11.7%, and now holds a total of 26,643 shares valued at approximately $14.6 million.
• Mastercard reported strong quarterly earnings with $4.15 EPS, exceeding analysts' expectations, and a revenue of $8.13 billion, marking a year-over-year increase of 16.8%.
• The company recently announced a quarterly dividend of $0.76 per share, representing an annual yield of 0.5% and a payout ratio of 20.50%.

Claar Advisors LLC decreased its holdings in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA - Free Report) by 11.7% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 26,643 shares of the credit services provider's stock after selling 3,547 shares during the quarter. Mastercard accounts for approximately 4.9% of Claar Advisors LLC's holdings, making the stock its 6th biggest holding. Claar Advisors LLC's holdings in Mastercard were worth $14,604,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Accredited Investors Inc. boosted 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 in the last quarter. Wealthstream Advisors Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Mastercard by 2.9% in the 1st quarter. Wealthstream Advisors Inc. now owns 632 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $347,000 after acquiring an additional 18 shares in the last quarter. Phillips Wealth Planners LLC boosted its holdings 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 worth $538,000 after acquiring an additional 19 shares in the last quarter. Alta Wealth Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Mastercard by 3.6% in the first quarter. Alta Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 540 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $296,000 after buying an additional 19 shares in the last quarter. Finally, May Hill Capital LLC increased its stake in shares of Mastercard by 2.0% in the first quarter. May Hill Capital LLC now owns 986 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $540,000 after buying an additional 19 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 97.28% of the company's stock.

Mastercard Stock Down 1.9%

Shares of NYSE:MA traded down $11.43 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $584.21. The stock had a trading volume of 2,432,106 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,252,842. Mastercard Incorporated has a 12 month low of $465.59 and a 12 month high of $601.77. 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 business's 50-day simple moving average is $572.59 and its 200-day simple moving average is $557.52. The company has a market cap of $528.13 billion, a P/E ratio of 39.39, a PEG ratio of 2.40 and a beta of 0.99.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, July 31st. The credit services provider reported $4.15 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $7.95 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $3.50 earnings per share. The firm's revenue was up 16.8% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Mastercard Incorporated will post 15.91 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Mastercard Announces Dividend

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on MA. Royal Bank Of Canada upped their price target on Mastercard from $650.00 to $656.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, August 1st. UBS Group raised 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. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on shares of Mastercard from $625.00 to $650.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, August 1st. Wolfe Research set a $655.00 target price on Mastercard in a research report on Monday, June 23rd. Finally, Morgan Stanley raised their price target on shares of Mastercard from $639.00 to $661.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, August 1st. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-four have issued a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $626.54.

Insider Activity

In other Mastercard news, insider Linda Pistecchia Kirkpatrick sold 959 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, June 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $572.86, for a total transaction of $549,372.74. Following the transaction, the insider owned 25,540 shares of the company's stock, valued at $14,630,844.40. The trade was a 3.62% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider Raj Seshadri sold 1,100 shares of the business's 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 transaction, the insider directly owned 12,921 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,064,815.17. This trade represents a 7.85% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 59,481 shares of company stock valued at $32,616,595. 0.09% of the stock is 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.