Cresset Asset Management LLC Sells 1,756 Shares of Mastercard Incorporated $MA

Key Points

• Cresset Asset Management LLC sold 1,756 shares of Mastercard, reducing its stake by 1.8% to 96,807 shares, valued at approximately $53 million.
• Mastercard's recent earnings report showed a quarterly EPS of $4.15, surpassing estimates, with revenue up 16.8% from the previous year.
• Several analysts have increased their price targets for Mastercard, with an average target of $617.93 and a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy."

Cresset Asset Management LLC decreased its stake in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA - Free Report) by 1.8% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 96,807 shares of the credit services provider's stock after selling 1,756 shares during the quarter. Cresset Asset Management LLC's holdings in Mastercard were worth $53,062,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in MA. Measured Risk Portfolios Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Mastercard during the 4th quarter worth $31,000. 10Elms LLP acquired a new position in shares of Mastercard during the 4th quarter worth $33,000. Hughes Financial Services LLC acquired a new position in shares of Mastercard during the 1st quarter worth $34,000. Navigoe LLC acquired a new position in shares of Mastercard during the 4th quarter worth $33,000. Finally, Mpwm Advisory Solutions LLC acquired a new position in Mastercard in the 4th quarter valued at $36,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 97.28% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

MA has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Seaport Res Ptn upgraded shares of Mastercard from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Monday, July 14th. KeyCorp raised their target price on shares of Mastercard from $635.00 to $660.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, August 1st. Macquarie lowered their target price on shares of Mastercard from $645.00 to $610.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, May 2nd. UBS Group raised their target price on shares of Mastercard from $660.00 to $670.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 3rd. Finally, TD Cowen restated a "buy" rating and issued a $645.00 price target on shares of Mastercard in a research report on Monday, August 11th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-four have issued a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Mastercard has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $617.93.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CFO J. Mehra Sachin sold 17,816 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $586.89, for a total value of $10,456,032.24. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 31,234 shares in the company, valued at approximately $18,330,922.26. This represents a 36.32% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider Raj Seshadri sold 1,100 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, June 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $546.77, for a total transaction of $601,447.00. Following the sale, the insider owned 12,921 shares in the company, valued at $7,064,815.17. The trade was a 7.85% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders sold 56,269 shares of company stock valued at $30,634,699. 0.09% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Mastercard Trading Down 0.6%

NYSE MA traded down $3.7660 during trading on Thursday, reaching $588.9140. 1,038,777 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,797,508. The firm has a market cap of $532.38 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 39.71, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.40 and a beta of 1.03. The stock's 50-day moving average price is $563.25 and its 200 day moving average price is $555.28. The company has a quick ratio of 1.16, a current ratio of 1.16 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.41. Mastercard Incorporated has a fifty-two week low of $461.90 and a fifty-two week high of $594.71.

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 (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 firm had revenue of $8.13 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $7.95 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $3.50 earnings per share. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 16.8% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts predict that Mastercard Incorporated will post 15.91 EPS for the current year.

Mastercard Announces Dividend

The company 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 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.5%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, July 9th. Mastercard's dividend payout ratio is 20.50%.

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.