Centric Wealth Management Sells 425 Shares of Mastercard Incorporated $MA

Key Points

• Centric Wealth Management has reduced its stake in Mastercard by 6.4%, owning 6,207 shares valued at approximately $3.4 million after selling 425 shares in the first quarter.
• Mastercard recently attracted institutional investments with multiple firms, including Keystone Global Partners and Measured Risk Portfolios, each purchasing new positions worth around $31,000 in the first quarter.
• Wall Street analysts have a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" for Mastercard, with price targets being raised by firms like Morgan Stanley and Wells Fargo, indicating a positive outlook for the stock.

Centric Wealth Management cut its holdings in shares of Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA - Free Report) by 6.4% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 6,207 shares of the credit services provider's stock after selling 425 shares during the period. Centric Wealth Management's holdings in Mastercard were worth $3,402,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in MA. Brighton Jones LLC lifted its stake in shares of Mastercard by 42.3% in the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 6,824 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $3,594,000 after acquiring an additional 2,028 shares during the last quarter. Bank Pictet & Cie Europe AG lifted its stake in shares of Mastercard by 11.8% in the 4th quarter. Bank Pictet & Cie Europe AG now owns 70,472 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $37,108,000 after acquiring an additional 7,452 shares during the last quarter. Mascagni Wealth Management Inc. bought a new position in shares of Mastercard in the 4th quarter valued at $73,000. Trustco Bank Corp N Y bought a new position in shares of Mastercard in the 4th quarter valued at $211,000. Finally, Freestone Grove Partners LP bought a new position in shares of Mastercard in the 4th quarter valued at $2,192,000. 97.28% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Mastercard

In other news, Director Julius Genachowski sold 312 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $570.67, for a total transaction of $178,049.04. Following the transaction, the director owned 8,469 shares of the company's stock, valued at $4,833,004.23. This represents a 3.55% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, insider Raj Seshadri sold 1,100 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, June 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $546.77, for a total transaction of $601,447.00. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 12,921 shares in the company, valued at $7,064,815.17. This trade represents a 7.85% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 56,269 shares of company stock worth $30,634,699. 0.09% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have recently commented on the company. Jefferies Financial Group reiterated a "buy" rating on shares of Mastercard in a research note on Friday, June 6th. Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on Mastercard from $639.00 to $661.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, August 1st. UBS Group increased their price objective on Mastercard from $660.00 to $670.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, June 3rd. KeyCorp increased their price objective on Mastercard from $635.00 to $660.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, August 1st. Finally, Wolfe Research set a $655.00 price objective on Mastercard in a report on Monday, June 23rd. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-four have issued a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Mastercard has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $623.03.

Mastercard Stock Up 0.1%

Shares of MA stock traded up $0.74 on Wednesday, reaching $592.61. 1,959,319 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,786,423. The company has a market cap of $535.73 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 39.96, a PEG ratio of 2.44 and a beta of 0.99. The company has a 50-day moving average of $570.13 and a 200-day moving average of $557.03. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.41, a current ratio of 1.16 and a quick ratio of 1.16. Mastercard Incorporated has a one year low of $465.59 and a one year high of $601.77.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 31st. The credit services provider reported $4.15 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $4.05 by $0.10. The company had revenue of $8.13 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $7.95 billion. Mastercard had a net margin of 44.93% and a return on equity of 200.01%. The business's revenue was up 16.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $3.50 EPS. Analysts anticipate 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 was paid on Friday, August 8th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, July 9th were given a dividend of $0.76 per share. This represents a $3.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.5%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, July 9th. Mastercard's dividend payout ratio is 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.