CHURCHILL MANAGEMENT Corp Sells 2,822 Shares of Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA)

CHURCHILL MANAGEMENT Corp lowered its stake in shares of Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA - Free Report) by 52.3% during the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 2,569 shares of the credit services provider's stock after selling 2,822 shares during the quarter. CHURCHILL MANAGEMENT Corp's holdings in Mastercard were worth $1,408,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of MA. Whalerock Point Partners LLC increased its holdings in Mastercard by 1.3% in the 4th quarter. Whalerock Point Partners LLC now owns 14,678 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $7,729,000 after buying an additional 185 shares during the period. Fortis Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Mastercard by 9.4% in the 1st quarter. Fortis Advisors LLC now owns 871 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $477,000 after buying an additional 75 shares during the period. Canandaigua National Trust Co of Florida increased its holdings in Mastercard by 36.4% in the 1st quarter. Canandaigua National Trust Co of Florida now owns 693 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $380,000 after buying an additional 185 shares during the period. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC increased its holdings in Mastercard by 1.7% in the 4th quarter. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC now owns 71,862 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $37,841,000 after buying an additional 1,194 shares during the period. Finally, Kingswood Wealth Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Mastercard by 18.0% in the 1st quarter. Kingswood Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 6,870 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $3,766,000 after buying an additional 1,047 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 97.28% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Mastercard

In related news, insider Sandra A. Arkell sold 150 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $580.00, for a total transaction of $87,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 3,255 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,887,900. This represents a 4.41% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Julius Genachowski sold 310 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, June 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $561.00, for a total value of $173,910.00. Following the sale, the director directly owned 8,323 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $4,669,203. The trade was a 3.59% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 38,441 shares of company stock worth $20,173,035 in the last quarter. Company insiders own 0.09% of the company's stock.

Mastercard Trading Up 0.9%

Shares of NYSE:MA traded up $5.01 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $566.53. The stock had a trading volume of 1,528,739 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,668,807. The firm has a market cap of $516.51 billion, a PE ratio of 39.73, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.47 and a beta of 1.02. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $566.83 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $546.49. 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 twelve month low of $428.86 and a twelve month high of $594.71.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 1st. The credit services provider reported $3.73 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $3.57 by $0.16. The business had revenue of $7.25 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.12 billion. Mastercard had a net margin of 45.21% and a return on equity of 196.87%. Mastercard's revenue for the quarter was up 14.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company posted $3.31 EPS. On average, research analysts predict that Mastercard Incorporated will post 15.91 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Mastercard Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 8th. Investors of record on Wednesday, July 9th will be paid 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

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Mastercard from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday, June 14th. Jefferies Financial Group reaffirmed a "buy" rating on shares of Mastercard in a report on Friday, June 6th. The Goldman Sachs Group reaffirmed a "buy" rating and issued a $633.00 target price on shares of Mastercard in a report on Wednesday, April 2nd. Citigroup upped their target price on shares of Mastercard from $650.00 to $652.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, May 5th. Finally, Tigress Financial reaffirmed a "strong-buy" rating on shares of Mastercard in a report on Monday, March 10th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-four have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Mastercard currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $611.50.

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.