Haverford Trust Co Reduces Stock Position in Mastercard Incorporated $MA

Key Points

• Haverford Trust Co has reduced its position in Mastercard by 1.1%, now holding 616,034 shares valued at approximately $337.7 million, which represents 3.4% of their total holdings.
• Several institutional investors have also recently increased their stakes in Mastercard, with a reported 97.28% of the company's stock owned by institutional investors.
• Wall Street analysts have varied projections for Mastercard's stock, with price targets ranging from $610.00 to $656.00 and an average rating of "Moderate Buy" based on recent evaluations.

Haverford Trust Co decreased its position in shares of Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA - Free Report) by 1.1% during the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 616,034 shares of the credit services provider's stock after selling 6,839 shares during the quarter. Mastercard makes up 3.4% of Haverford Trust Co's holdings, making the stock its 4th largest holding. Haverford Trust Co owned about 0.07% of Mastercard worth $337,661,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Keystone Global Partners LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Mastercard during the 1st quarter worth $31,000. Measured Risk Portfolios Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Mastercard during the 4th quarter worth $31,000. 10Elms LLP purchased a new stake in shares of Mastercard during the 4th quarter worth $33,000. Hughes Financial Services LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Mastercard during the 1st quarter worth $34,000. Finally, Navigoe LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Mastercard during the 4th quarter worth $33,000. Institutional investors own 97.28% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on MA. Seaport Res Ptn upgraded Mastercard from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Monday, July 14th. Royal Bank Of Canada upped their price objective on Mastercard from $650.00 to $656.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, August 1st. Macquarie decreased their price objective on Mastercard from $645.00 to $610.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, May 2nd. Citigroup increased their price target on Mastercard from $650.00 to $652.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, May 5th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group reiterated a "buy" rating on shares of Mastercard in a research note on Friday, August 1st. Two investment 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. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $617.93.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Julius Genachowski sold 312 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $570.67, for a total value of $178,049.04. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 8,469 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $4,833,004.23. This represents a 3.55% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider Linda Pistecchia Kirkpatrick sold 959 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the insider directly owned 25,540 shares in the company, valued at $14,630,844.40. This represents a 3.62% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 56,269 shares of company stock valued at $30,634,699. Insiders own 0.09% of the company's stock.

Mastercard Stock Up 1.1%

Shares of MA stock opened at $598.1480 on Friday. The stock's 50-day simple moving average is $564.03 and its 200-day simple moving average is $555.73. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.41, a quick ratio of 1.16 and a current ratio of 1.16. The firm has a market capitalization of $540.73 billion, a PE ratio of 40.33, a P/E/G ratio of 2.43 and a beta of 1.03. Mastercard Incorporated has a fifty-two week low of $461.90 and a fifty-two week high of $601.77.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 31st. The credit services provider reported $4.15 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $4.05 by $0.10. The business had revenue of $8.13 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.95 billion. Mastercard had a return on equity of 200.01% and a net margin of 44.93%.The company's revenue was up 16.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $3.50 earnings per share. Equities analysts expect 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 was paid on Friday, August 8th. Stockholders 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.5%. 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.

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