Highland Capital Management LLC Cuts Stock Holdings in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA)

Highland Capital Management LLC trimmed its holdings in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA - Free Report) by 44.2% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 4,536 shares of the credit services provider's stock after selling 3,591 shares during the period. Highland Capital Management LLC's holdings in Mastercard were worth $2,486,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Norges Bank purchased a new position in Mastercard during the fourth quarter valued at $6,022,224,000. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its stake in Mastercard by 65,631.5% in 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 in the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new position in shares of Mastercard during the 4th quarter valued at about $837,017,000. Northern Trust Corp grew its position in shares of Mastercard by 15.2% during the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 9,149,181 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $4,817,684,000 after purchasing an additional 1,207,787 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Sanders Capital LLC purchased a new position in shares of Mastercard during the fourth quarter valued at about $617,303,000. Institutional investors own 97.28% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, insider Craig Vosburg sold 9,428 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, June 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $353.05, for a total transaction of $3,328,555.40. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 58,451 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $20,636,125.55. This trade represents a 13.89% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale 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 directly owned 12,921 shares of the company's stock, valued at $7,064,815.17. This represents a 7.85% 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 over the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 0.09% of the company's stock.

Mastercard Trading Up 0.5%

Shares of MA stock traded up $2.95 on Tuesday, reaching $564.89. 3,826,987 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,673,697. The company's fifty day simple moving average is $564.18 and its 200 day simple moving average is $545.76. The stock has a market capitalization of $515.02 billion, a PE ratio of 39.61, a P/E/G ratio of 2.45 and a beta of 1.02. The company has a current ratio of 1.11, a quick ratio of 1.11 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.81. Mastercard Incorporated has a 52 week low of $428.86 and a 52 week high of $594.71.

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

Mastercard Announces Dividend

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 issued a dividend of $0.76 per share. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, July 9th. This represents a $3.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.54%. Mastercard's payout ratio is 21.32%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on MA shares. Tigress Financial reiterated a "strong-buy" rating on shares of Mastercard in a research report on Monday, March 10th. Truist Financial assumed coverage on Mastercard in a report on Monday, June 2nd. They set a "buy" rating and a $640.00 price objective on the stock. Wall Street Zen downgraded Mastercard from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Saturday, June 14th. KeyCorp raised their target price on shares of Mastercard from $630.00 to $635.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, May 2nd. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group reaffirmed a "buy" rating and set a $633.00 price target on shares of Mastercard in a research note on Wednesday, April 2nd. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-four have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Mastercard has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $611.50.

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.