Mastercard Incorporated $MA Stock Position Cut by Biondo Investment Advisors LLC

Key Points

• Biondo Investment Advisors LLC reduced its stake in Mastercard by 3.6%, selling 2,691 shares, and now holds 72,697 shares, accounting for 5.6% of its portfolio.
• Mastercard's recent earnings report showed an EPS of $4.15, beating estimates, and a quarterly revenue of $8.13 billion, representing a 16.8% year-over-year increase.
• Mastercard announced a quarterly dividend of $0.76, with a current dividend yield of 0.5% and a payout ratio of 20.50%.

Biondo Investment Advisors LLC trimmed its position in shares of Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA - Free Report) by 3.6% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 72,697 shares of the credit services provider's stock after selling 2,691 shares during the period. Mastercard comprises 5.6% of Biondo Investment Advisors LLC's portfolio, making the stock its 3rd largest position. Biondo Investment Advisors LLC's holdings in Mastercard were worth $39,847,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Measured Risk Portfolios Inc. bought a new position in Mastercard in the fourth quarter worth about $31,000. Keystone Global Partners LLC bought a new position in Mastercard in the first quarter worth about $31,000. Navigoe LLC bought a new position in Mastercard in the fourth quarter worth about $33,000. 10Elms LLP bought a new position in Mastercard in the fourth quarter worth about $33,000. Finally, Hughes Financial Services LLC bought a new position in Mastercard in the first quarter worth about $34,000. 97.28% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Linda Pistecchia Kirkpatrick sold 958 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $560.00, for a total transaction of $536,480.00. Following the sale, the insider owned 23,624 shares in the company, valued at $13,229,440. This represents a 3.90% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Craig Vosburg sold 9,428 shares of the 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 sale, the insider owned 58,451 shares in the company, valued at approximately $20,636,125.55. The trade was a 13.89% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 56,269 shares of company stock valued at $30,634,699. Company insiders own 0.09% of the company's stock.

Mastercard Stock Down 0.0%

Shares of NYSE:MA traded down $0.08 during trading on Wednesday, reaching $591.53. 1,480,736 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,802,558. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $565.00 and a two-hundred day moving average of $556.05. Mastercard Incorporated has a 52-week low of $465.59 and a 52-week high of $601.77. 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 stock has a market cap of $534.75 billion, a P/E ratio of 39.89, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.43 and a beta of 1.03.

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

Mastercard Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 8th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, July 9th were issued a dividend of $0.76 per share. The ex-dividend date 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 presently 20.50%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on MA shares. Macquarie decreased their price target on shares of Mastercard from $645.00 to $610.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, May 2nd. UBS Group increased their price target 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. TD Cowen reissued a "buy" rating and issued a $645.00 price target on shares of Mastercard in a research note on Monday, August 11th. Morgan Stanley increased their price target on shares of Mastercard from $639.00 to $661.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, August 1st. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group restated a "buy" rating on shares of Mastercard in a report on Friday, June 6th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-four have assigned a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Mastercard currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $617.93.

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.