Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) is Ycg LLC's Largest Position

Key Points

• Ycg LLC holds 171,063 shares of Mastercard, making it the fund's largest position with a value of approximately $93.76 million, despite a slight decrease of 0.3% in holdings during the 1st quarter.
• Recent insider trading saw Raj Seshadri sell 1,100 shares for $601,447, leading to a 7.85% reduction in their ownership, while Linda Pistecchia Kirkpatrick also sold shares, contributing to a cumulative $20.18 million in insider sales in the last ninety days.
• Mastercard reported $4.15 earnings per share for the last quarter, surpassing analyst expectations and reflecting a 16.8% increase in revenue compared to the previous year.

YCG LLC trimmed its position in shares of Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA - Free Report) by 0.3% during the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 171,063 shares of the credit services provider's stock after selling 594 shares during the period. Mastercard makes up approximately 7.3% of YCG LLC's investment portfolio, making the stock its largest position. YCG LLC's holdings in Mastercard were worth $93,763,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of MA. Brighton Jones LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Mastercard by 42.3% in the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 6,824 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $3,594,000 after acquiring an additional 2,028 shares during the last quarter. Bank Pictet & Cie Europe AG raised its holdings in Mastercard by 11.8% during the 4th quarter. Bank Pictet & Cie Europe AG now owns 70,472 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $37,108,000 after purchasing an additional 7,452 shares during the last quarter. Mascagni Wealth Management Inc. bought a new position in Mastercard during the 4th quarter worth approximately $73,000. Trustco Bank Corp N Y bought a new position in Mastercard during the 4th quarter worth approximately $211,000. Finally, Trustmark National Bank Trust Department raised its holdings in Mastercard by 50.5% during the 4th quarter. Trustmark National Bank Trust Department now owns 948 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $499,000 after purchasing an additional 318 shares during the last quarter. 97.28% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Julius Genachowski sold 312 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $570.67, for a total value of $178,049.04. Following the sale, the director directly owned 8,469 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,833,004.23. The trade was a 3.55% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider Linda Pistecchia Kirkpatrick sold 958 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $560.00, for a total value of $536,480.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 23,624 shares in the company, valued at $13,229,440. This represents a 3.90% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 38,453 shares of company stock valued at $20,178,667. 0.09% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have recently commented on MA shares. KeyCorp raised their price objective on shares of Mastercard from $635.00 to $660.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, August 1st. Seaport Res Ptn raised shares of Mastercard from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Monday, July 14th. Royal Bank Of Canada raised their price objective on shares of Mastercard from $650.00 to $656.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Friday, August 1st. Macquarie reduced their price objective on shares of Mastercard from $645.00 to $610.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, May 2nd. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft started coverage on shares of Mastercard in a research report on Thursday, July 17th. They set a "buy" rating and a $650.00 price objective for the company. Five research 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's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $617.93.

Mastercard Stock Down 0.3%

MA traded down $1.70 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $582.06. 2,263,560 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,818,117. The stock has a market capitalization of $526.19 billion, a PE ratio of 39.25, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.37 and a beta of 1.03. Mastercard Incorporated has a 1 year low of $461.90 and a 1 year high of $594.71. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.41, a quick ratio of 1.16 and a current ratio of 1.16. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $563.46 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $554.40.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, July 31st. The credit services provider reported $4.15 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 return on equity of 200.01% and a net margin of 44.93%. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 16.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $3.50 EPS. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Mastercard Incorporated will post 15.91 EPS for the current year.

Mastercard Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 8th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, July 9th were paid 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 was Wednesday, July 9th. Mastercard's payout ratio is presently 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.