Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) Shares Sold by DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale

DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale lessened its stake in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA - Free Report) by 1.0% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,309,726 shares of the credit services provider's stock after selling 12,641 shares during the quarter. Mastercard comprises approximately 1.4% of DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale's holdings, making the stock its 10th biggest holding. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale owned approximately 0.14% of Mastercard worth $700,907,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in MA. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of Mastercard in the 4th quarter valued at $6,022,224,000. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its holdings in shares of 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 valued at $4,508,636,000 after purchasing an additional 8,213,123 shares during the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp raised its stake in shares of Mastercard by 15.2% in the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 9,149,181 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $4,817,684,000 after acquiring an additional 1,207,787 shares during the period. Sanders Capital LLC purchased a new position in shares of Mastercard in the 4th quarter valued at $617,303,000. Finally, Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH purchased a new position in shares of Mastercard in the 4th quarter valued at $561,313,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 97.28% of the company's stock.

Mastercard Stock Down 2.4%

Shares of MA traded down $13.48 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $550.04. The company had a trading volume of 3,221,317 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,666,632. The company's 50 day moving average price is $568.42 and its 200 day moving average price is $547.67. The stock has a market cap of $501.48 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 38.57, a PEG ratio of 2.45 and a beta of 1.02. Mastercard Incorporated has a 52 week low of $428.86 and a 52 week high of $594.71. The company has a quick ratio of 1.11, a current ratio of 1.11 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.81.

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. Mastercard had a net margin of 45.21% and a return on equity of 196.87%. The company had revenue of $7.25 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.12 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $3.31 EPS. The company's revenue was up 14.2% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts predict that Mastercard Incorporated will post 15.91 EPS for the current year.

Mastercard Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 8th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, July 9th will be issued a $0.76 dividend. This represents a $3.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.55%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, July 9th. Mastercard's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 21.32%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

MA has been the topic of a number of research reports. Jefferies Financial Group reissued a "buy" rating on shares of Mastercard in a research note on Friday, June 6th. KeyCorp raised their target price on shares of Mastercard from $630.00 to $635.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, May 2nd. The Goldman Sachs Group reissued a "buy" rating and issued a $633.00 target price on shares of Mastercard in a research note on Wednesday, April 2nd. Citigroup raised their target price on shares of Mastercard from $650.00 to $652.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, May 5th. Finally, UBS Group raised their target price on shares of Mastercard from $660.00 to $670.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 3rd. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-four have given a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $611.50.

Insider Buying and Selling at Mastercard

In other news, insider Linda Pistecchia Kirkpatrick sold 959 shares of Mastercard stock in a transaction dated Friday, June 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $572.86, for a total value of $549,372.74. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 25,540 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $14,630,844.40. The trade was a 3.62% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider Craig Vosburg sold 14,051 shares of Mastercard stock in a transaction dated Thursday, June 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $585.05, for a total transaction of $8,220,537.55. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 58,451 shares of the company's stock, valued at $34,196,757.55. This trade represents a 19.38% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 38,753 shares of company stock valued at $20,351,084. Corporate insiders own 0.09% of the company's stock.

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.