Delta Investment Management LLC Lowers Holdings in Mastercard Incorporated $MA

Key Points

• Delta Investment Management LLC has significantly reduced its stake in Mastercard by 74.6% during the first quarter, now holding only 668 shares valued at approximately $366,000.
• A number of other institutional investors, including Accredited Investors Inc. and Wealthstream Advisors Inc., have raised their stakes in Mastercard, indicating ongoing interest from hedge funds.
• Mastercard recently reported quarterly earnings of $4.15 per share, exceeding expectations, with a revenue of $8.13 billion, reflecting a 16.8% increase compared to the previous year.

Delta Investment Management LLC lessened its position in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA - Free Report) by 74.6% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 668 shares of the credit services provider's stock after selling 1,961 shares during the quarter. Delta Investment Management LLC's holdings in Mastercard were worth $366,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Brighton Jones LLC raised its stake in Mastercard by 42.3% during the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 6,824 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $3,594,000 after buying an additional 2,028 shares during the last quarter. Bank Pictet & Cie Europe AG raised its stake in Mastercard by 11.8% during the fourth quarter. Bank Pictet & Cie Europe AG now owns 70,472 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $37,108,000 after buying an additional 7,452 shares during the last quarter. Mascagni Wealth Management Inc. purchased a new position in Mastercard during the fourth quarter valued at $73,000. Trustco Bank Corp N Y purchased a new position in Mastercard during the fourth quarter valued at $211,000. Finally, Voleon Capital Management LP purchased a new position in Mastercard during the fourth quarter valued at $20,617,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 97.28% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Mastercard

In other Mastercard news, insider Linda Pistecchia Kirkpatrick sold 958 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $560.00, for a total transaction of $536,480.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 23,624 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $13,229,440. The trade was a 3.90% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CFO J. Mehra Sachin sold 17,816 shares of the business'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 sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 31,234 shares of the company's stock, valued at $18,330,922.26. This represents a 36.32% 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 valued at $30,634,699 in the last ninety days. 0.09% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Mastercard Stock Performance

Shares of MA traded up $5.44 during trading hours on Monday, hitting $595.92. The stock had a trading volume of 2,111,125 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,512,600. 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 Incorporated has a 12 month low of $465.59 and a 12 month high of $601.77. The firm has a market capitalization of $538.71 billion, a PE ratio of 40.18, a PEG ratio of 2.44 and a beta of 0.99. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $568.38 and a 200 day moving average price of $556.57.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 31st. The credit services provider reported $4.15 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $4.05 by $0.10. Mastercard had a return on equity of 200.01% and a net margin of 44.93%.The company had revenue of $8.13 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.95 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $3.50 earnings per share. Mastercard's revenue was up 16.8% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts anticipate that Mastercard Incorporated will post 15.91 EPS 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. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, July 9th. This represents a $3.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.5%. Mastercard's payout ratio is presently 20.50%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have issued reports on MA shares. Citigroup lifted their price objective on Mastercard from $650.00 to $652.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, May 5th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft started coverage on Mastercard in a report on Thursday, July 17th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $650.00 target price for the company. TD Cowen reissued a "buy" rating and issued a $645.00 target price on shares of Mastercard in a report on Monday, August 11th. Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on Mastercard from $639.00 to $661.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, August 1st. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised Mastercard from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, July 18th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-four have given a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $617.93.

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.