Montrusco Bolton Investments Inc. Sells 99,922 Shares of Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA)

Montrusco Bolton Investments Inc. reduced its stake in shares of Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA - Free Report) by 12.6% in the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 694,326 shares of the credit services provider's stock after selling 99,922 shares during the quarter. Mastercard makes up 4.9% of Montrusco Bolton Investments Inc.'s holdings, making the stock its 6th largest position. Montrusco Bolton Investments Inc. owned 0.08% of Mastercard worth $370,802,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Fi3 FINANCIAL ADVISORS LLC grew its holdings in shares of Mastercard by 2.6% during the fourth quarter. Fi3 FINANCIAL ADVISORS LLC now owns 736 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $388,000 after purchasing an additional 19 shares during the last quarter. Strategy Asset Managers LLC grew its holdings in shares of Mastercard by 2.1% during the fourth quarter. Strategy Asset Managers LLC now owns 911 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $480,000 after purchasing an additional 19 shares during the last quarter. Phillips Wealth Planners LLC grew its holdings in shares of Mastercard by 1.8% during the first quarter. Phillips Wealth Planners LLC now owns 1,055 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $538,000 after purchasing an additional 19 shares during the last quarter. Alta Wealth Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Mastercard by 3.6% during the first quarter. Alta Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 540 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $296,000 after purchasing an additional 19 shares during the last quarter. Finally, May Hill Capital LLC grew its holdings in shares of Mastercard by 2.0% during the first quarter. May Hill Capital LLC now owns 986 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $540,000 after purchasing an additional 19 shares during the last quarter. 97.28% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have recently commented on MA shares. The Goldman Sachs Group reaffirmed a "buy" rating and set a $633.00 target price on shares of Mastercard in a report on Wednesday, April 2nd. Wolfe Research set a $655.00 price objective on Mastercard in a report on Monday, June 23rd. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft began coverage on Mastercard in a report on Thursday. They issued a "buy" rating and a $650.00 price objective for the company. Wall Street Zen lowered Mastercard from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday, June 14th. Finally, Seaport Res Ptn raised Mastercard from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Monday. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-four have issued a buy rating and three have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $612.90.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Craig Vosburg sold 9,428 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, June 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $353.05, for a total value of $3,328,555.40. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 58,451 shares in the company, valued at $20,636,125.55. This represents a 13.89% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, insider Raj Seshadri sold 1,100 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, June 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $546.77, for a total value of $601,447.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 12,921 shares of the company's stock, valued at $7,064,815.17. The trade was a 7.85% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 38,753 shares of company stock worth $20,351,084 over the last three months. Company insiders own 0.09% of the company's stock.

Mastercard Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:MA traded down $3.09 on Friday, reaching $552.52. 2,579,579 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,666,093. Mastercard Incorporated has a fifty-two week low of $428.86 and a fifty-two week high of $594.71. The company's 50 day moving average is $567.61 and its 200-day moving average is $548.26. The stock has a market capitalization of $503.74 billion, a PE ratio of 38.75, a P/E/G ratio of 2.41 and a beta of 1.02. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.81, a current ratio of 1.11 and a quick ratio of 1.11.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 1st. The credit services provider reported $3.73 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $3.57 by $0.16. Mastercard had a return on equity of 196.87% and a net margin of 45.21%. 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 prior year, the firm earned $3.31 EPS. The company's quarterly revenue was up 14.2% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts anticipate that Mastercard Incorporated will post 15.91 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Mastercard Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 8th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, July 9th will be given 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 dividend yield of 0.55%. Mastercard's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 21.32%.

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.