Motley Fool Wealth Management LLC Has $44.49 Million Stock Holdings in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA)

Key Points

• Motley Fool Wealth Management LLC has reduced its holdings in Mastercard by 11.8%, now owning 81,170 shares worth approximately $44.5 million, making it the firm's 7th largest holding.
• Mastercard's stock recently increased by 2.4%, with a market cap of $519.28 billion and a 1-year high of $594.71, following positive earnings results that beat analysts' expectations.
• The company recently announced a quarterly dividend of $0.76 per share, yielding 0.5%, with a payout ratio of 20.50%.

Motley Fool Wealth Management LLC reduced its holdings in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA - Free Report) by 11.8% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 81,170 shares of the credit services provider's stock after selling 10,856 shares during the period. Mastercard comprises about 2.6% of Motley Fool Wealth Management LLC's holdings, making the stock its 7th largest holding. Motley Fool Wealth Management LLC's holdings in Mastercard were worth $44,491,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Brighton Jones LLC raised its holdings in Mastercard by 42.3% during the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 6,824 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $3,594,000 after buying an additional 2,028 shares in the last quarter. Bank Pictet & Cie Europe AG raised its holdings in Mastercard by 11.8% during the fourth quarter. Bank Pictet & Cie Europe AG now owns 70,472 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $37,108,000 after buying an additional 7,452 shares in the last quarter. Mascagni Wealth Management Inc. bought a new position in Mastercard during the fourth quarter valued at about $73,000. Trustco Bank Corp N Y bought a new position in Mastercard during the fourth quarter valued at about $211,000. Finally, Sagespring Wealth Partners LLC bought a new position in Mastercard during the fourth quarter valued at about $3,915,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 97.28% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity at Mastercard

In other Mastercard 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 sale, 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 sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, insider Craig Vosburg sold 9,428 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, June 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $353.05, for a total transaction of $3,328,555.40. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 58,451 shares in the company, valued at approximately $20,636,125.55. This represents a 13.89% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 38,453 shares of company stock worth $20,178,667 in the last quarter. Insiders own 0.09% of the company's stock.

Mastercard Price Performance

MA stock traded up $0.29 during trading on Tuesday, hitting $573.88. 2,593,766 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,583,637. Mastercard Incorporated has a one year low of $454.89 and a one year high of $594.71. The stock has a market cap of $518.80 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 38.70, a P/E/G ratio of 2.36 and a beta of 1.03. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $563.59 and a 200 day simple moving average of $553.98. The company has a current ratio of 1.16, a quick ratio of 1.16 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.41.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 31st. The credit services provider reported $4.15 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.95 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $3.50 EPS. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 16.8% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts expect that Mastercard Incorporated will post 15.91 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Mastercard Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 8th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, July 9th were issued a dividend of $0.76 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, July 9th. This represents a $3.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.5%. Mastercard's dividend payout ratio is currently 20.50%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have weighed in on MA shares. Wolfe Research set a $655.00 target price on Mastercard in a report on Monday, June 23rd. KeyCorp upped their price target on shares of Mastercard from $635.00 to $660.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, August 1st. Citigroup upped their price target on shares of Mastercard from $650.00 to $652.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, May 5th. 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 report on Friday, May 2nd. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft initiated coverage on shares of Mastercard in a report on Thursday, July 17th. They set a "buy" rating and a $650.00 price target for the company. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-five have issued a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $615.33.

Mastercard Company 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.