Mastercard Incorporated $MA Shares Sold by Evergreen Wealth Solutions LLC

Key Points

• Evergreen Wealth Solutions LLC has reduced its stake in Mastercard by 17.2%, now holding 2,217 shares valued at $1.215 million.
• Mastercard reported a quarterly earnings per share (EPS) of $4.15, surpassing analysts' estimates, with revenue of $8.13 billion reflecting a 16.8% year-over-year increase.
• The company has recently announced a quarterly dividend of $0.76 per share, translating to an annualized yield of 0.5% and a payout ratio of 20.50%.

Evergreen Wealth Solutions LLC reduced its position in shares of Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA - Free Report) by 17.2% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 2,217 shares of the credit services provider's stock after selling 460 shares during the quarter. Mastercard accounts for approximately 0.8% of Evergreen Wealth Solutions LLC's investment portfolio, making the stock its 22nd biggest holding. Evergreen Wealth Solutions LLC's holdings in Mastercard were worth $1,215,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the business. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its stake in 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 last quarter. Nuveen LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Mastercard in the first quarter valued at approximately $4,238,764,000. Wellington Management Group LLP grew its holdings in Mastercard by 38.6% in the 1st quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 13,526,118 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $7,413,936,000 after buying an additional 3,765,378 shares in the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp boosted its position in shares of Mastercard by 15.2% during the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 9,149,181 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $4,817,684,000 after acquiring an additional 1,207,787 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH acquired a new position in Mastercard in the 4th quarter valued at about $561,313,000. 97.28% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on the company. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on Mastercard from $625.00 to $650.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" 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 report on Tuesday, June 3rd. Seaport Res Ptn raised shares of Mastercard from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Monday, July 14th. Jefferies Financial Group reaffirmed a "buy" rating on shares of Mastercard in a research note on Friday, June 6th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group reiterated a "buy" rating on shares of Mastercard in a research report on Friday, August 1st. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-four have issued a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Mastercard has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $617.93.

Insider Activity at Mastercard

In other Mastercard news, insider Craig Vosburg sold 14,051 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, June 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $585.05, for a total value of $8,220,537.55. Following the completion of 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 ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider Raj Seshadri sold 1,100 shares of Mastercard stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, June 27th. The shares were 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 of the company's stock, valued at approximately $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. 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 currently owned by corporate insiders.

Mastercard Stock Up 0.0%

Shares of MA traded up $0.11 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $590.77. The stock had a trading volume of 2,159,735 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,693,292. The company has a market cap of $534.07 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 39.84, a PEG ratio of 2.42 and a beta of 1.03. The company's fifty day simple moving average is $566.06 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $556.30. 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 1-year low of $465.59 and a 1-year high of $601.77.

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

Mastercard Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 8th. Investors of record on Wednesday, July 9th were issued 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 currently 20.50%.

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.