Gibraltar Capital Management Inc. Sells 1,896 Shares of Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA)

Gibraltar Capital Management Inc. reduced its position in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA - Free Report) by 12.4% in the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 13,379 shares of the credit services provider's stock after selling 1,896 shares during the quarter. Mastercard comprises about 1.6% of Gibraltar Capital Management Inc.'s holdings, making the stock its 18th biggest holding. Gibraltar Capital Management Inc.'s holdings in Mastercard were worth $7,334,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Measured Risk Portfolios Inc. purchased a new position in Mastercard in the 4th quarter worth approximately $31,000. Navigoe LLC bought a new stake in shares of Mastercard in the 4th quarter worth approximately $33,000. 10Elms LLP bought a new position in Mastercard in the 4th quarter worth $33,000. Truvestments Capital LLC raised its holdings in Mastercard by 62.5% in the 4th quarter. Truvestments Capital LLC now owns 65 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $34,000 after purchasing an additional 25 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Mpwm Advisory Solutions LLC bought a new position in shares of Mastercard in the 4th quarter worth about $36,000. 97.28% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts recently commented on MA shares. The Goldman Sachs Group reissued a "buy" rating and set a $633.00 price objective on shares of Mastercard in a research report on Wednesday, April 2nd. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Mastercard from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday, June 14th. KeyCorp raised their price target on shares of Mastercard from $630.00 to $635.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, May 2nd. UBS Group raised their target price on shares of Mastercard from $660.00 to $670.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 3rd. Finally, Wolfe Research set a $655.00 target price on shares of Mastercard in a research note on Monday, June 23rd. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-four have given a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $611.50.

Mastercard Trading Down 0.1%

Shares of MA traded down $0.77 during trading hours on Thursday, reaching $564.34. 2,577,223 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,677,942. The firm has a market cap of $514.51 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 39.57, a PEG ratio of 2.44 and a beta of 1.02. Mastercard Incorporated has a 12-month low of $428.86 and a 12-month high of $594.71. The company has a current ratio of 1.11, a quick ratio of 1.11 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.81. The stock's fifty day moving average price is $568.25 and its 200 day moving average price is $547.33.

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

Mastercard Announces Dividend

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

Insider Transactions at Mastercard

In related news, insider Linda Pistecchia Kirkpatrick sold 958 shares of Mastercard stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $560.00, for a total value of $536,480.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 23,624 shares in the company, valued at $13,229,440. The trade was a 3.90% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Raj Seshadri sold 1,100 shares of Mastercard stock in a transaction dated Friday, June 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $546.77, for a total value of $601,447.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 12,921 shares of the company's stock, 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 have sold 38,753 shares of company stock valued at $20,351,084. Insiders own 0.09% of the company's stock.

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.