Fisher Funds Management LTD Sells 32,167 Shares of Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA)

Fisher Funds Management LTD lowered its position in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA - Free Report) by 11.5% during the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 246,764 shares of the credit services provider's stock after selling 32,167 shares during the quarter. Mastercard accounts for 3.3% of Fisher Funds Management LTD's investment portfolio, making the stock its 4th biggest position. Fisher Funds Management LTD's holdings in Mastercard were worth $135,256,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Whalerock Point Partners LLC increased its holdings in shares of Mastercard by 1.3% in the 4th quarter. Whalerock Point Partners LLC now owns 14,678 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $7,729,000 after acquiring an additional 185 shares during the last quarter. Fortis Advisors LLC boosted its position in Mastercard by 9.4% during the 1st quarter. Fortis Advisors LLC now owns 871 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $477,000 after acquiring an additional 75 shares during the period. Canandaigua National Trust Co of Florida boosted its position in Mastercard by 36.4% during the 1st quarter. Canandaigua National Trust Co of Florida now owns 693 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $380,000 after acquiring an additional 185 shares during the period. Kingswood Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its position in Mastercard by 18.0% during the 1st quarter. Kingswood Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 6,870 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $3,766,000 after acquiring an additional 1,047 shares during the period. Finally, Baldwin Investment Management LLC boosted its position in Mastercard by 5.7% during the 4th quarter. Baldwin Investment Management LLC now owns 1,731 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $911,000 after acquiring an additional 93 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 97.28% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on MA. Wolfe Research set a $655.00 price objective on Mastercard in a report on Monday, June 23rd. Tigress Financial reaffirmed a "strong-buy" rating on shares of Mastercard in a research report on Monday, March 10th. Evercore ISI began coverage on Mastercard in a research report on Wednesday, April 9th. They set an "in-line" rating and a $550.00 target price on the stock. Macquarie cut their target price on Mastercard from $645.00 to $610.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, May 2nd. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group reaffirmed a "buy" rating on shares of Mastercard in a research report on Friday, June 6th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-four have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $611.50.

Mastercard Stock Up 0.9%

Shares of NYSE MA traded up $5.01 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $566.53. 1,528,739 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,670,606. The company's fifty day moving average is $566.83 and its two-hundred day moving average is $546.68. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.81, a quick ratio of 1.11 and a current ratio of 1.11. Mastercard Incorporated has a fifty-two week low of $428.86 and a fifty-two week high of $594.71. The stock has a market cap of $516.51 billion, a PE ratio of 39.73, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.47 and a beta of 1.02.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 1st. The credit services provider reported $3.73 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $3.57 by $0.16. Mastercard had a return on equity of 196.87% and a net margin of 45.21%. The business had revenue of $7.25 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.12 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $3.31 EPS. The firm's revenue was up 14.2% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts expect that Mastercard Incorporated will post 15.91 earnings per share for the current year.

Mastercard Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 8th. Investors of record on Wednesday, July 9th will be paid a $0.76 dividend. This represents a $3.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.54%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, July 9th. Mastercard's payout ratio is 21.32%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, insider Raj Seshadri sold 1,100 shares of the firm'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 of the company's stock, valued at approximately $7,064,815.17. This trade represents a 7.85% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider Linda Pistecchia Kirkpatrick sold 959 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, June 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $572.86, for a total value of $549,372.74. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 25,540 shares in the company, valued at $14,630,844.40. This trade represents a 3.62% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 38,441 shares of company stock worth $20,173,035 in the last three months. 0.09% of the stock is owned by 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.