Confluence Investment Management LLC Decreases Holdings in Mastercard Incorporated $MA

Key Points

• Confluence Investment Management LLC has reduced its stake in Mastercard by 3.5%, selling 6,109 shares and now holding 166,645 shares valued at approximately $93.6 million.
• Insider selling has occurred, with Mastercard's CFO selling 17,263 shares for over $10 million, reflecting a 35.6% decrease in their ownership position.
• Mastercard's latest earnings showed $4.15 EPS, surpassing expectations, along with a 16.8% increase in quarterly revenue compared to last year.

Confluence Investment Management LLC reduced its stake in shares of Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA - Free Report) by 3.5% in the second quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 166,645 shares of the credit services provider's stock after selling 6,109 shares during the period. Mastercard comprises approximately 1.3% of Confluence Investment Management LLC's portfolio, making the stock its 29th biggest position. Confluence Investment Management LLC's holdings in Mastercard were worth $93,644,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Accredited Investors Inc. boosted its position in Mastercard by 2.6% during the 1st quarter. Accredited Investors Inc. now owns 718 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $394,000 after acquiring an additional 18 shares in the last quarter. Wealthstream Advisors Inc. boosted its position in Mastercard by 2.9% during the 1st quarter. Wealthstream Advisors Inc. now owns 632 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $347,000 after acquiring an additional 18 shares in the last quarter. Phillips Wealth Planners LLC boosted its position in Mastercard by 1.8% during the 1st quarter. Phillips Wealth Planners LLC now owns 1,055 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $538,000 after acquiring an additional 19 shares in the last quarter. Alta Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its position in Mastercard by 3.6% during the 1st quarter. Alta Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 540 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $296,000 after acquiring an additional 19 shares in the last quarter. Finally, May Hill Capital LLC boosted its position in Mastercard by 2.0% during the 1st quarter. May Hill Capital LLC now owns 986 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $540,000 after acquiring an additional 19 shares in the last quarter. 97.28% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have weighed in on the company. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on Mastercard from $625.00 to $650.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, August 1st. Wall Street Zen raised Mastercard from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, July 18th. Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on shares of Mastercard from $639.00 to $661.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, August 1st. Jefferies Financial Group reiterated a "buy" rating on shares of Mastercard in a report on Friday, June 6th. Finally, Wolfe Research set a $655.00 target price on shares of Mastercard in a report on Monday, June 23rd. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-four have issued a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $626.54.

Mastercard Stock Up 0.5%

NYSE MA traded up $2.89 during mid-day trading on Monday, reaching $583.30. The stock had a trading volume of 2,222,637 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,200,568. Mastercard Incorporated has a 1 year low of $465.59 and a 1 year high of $601.77. The stock has a market cap of $527.31 billion, a PE ratio of 39.33, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.38 and a beta of 0.99. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $574.96 and a 200 day moving average price of $558.34. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.41, a current ratio of 1.16 and a quick ratio of 1.16.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 31st. The credit services provider reported $4.15 earnings per share for the quarter, topping 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 company had revenue of $8.13 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.95 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $3.50 EPS. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 16.8% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts expect that Mastercard Incorporated will post 15.91 earnings per share for the current year.

Mastercard Dividend Announcement

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

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Mastercard news, Director Julius Genachowski sold 312 shares of the business's stock in a transaction 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 in the company, valued at approximately $4,833,004.23. The trade was a 3.55% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CFO J. Mehra Sachin sold 17,816 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $586.89, for a total transaction of $10,456,032.24. Following the sale, the chief financial officer owned 31,234 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $18,330,922.26. This represents a 36.32% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 49,094 shares of company stock worth $26,521,861 over the last 90 days. 0.09% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Mastercard Company 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.