Bridges Investment Management Inc. Cuts Holdings in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA)

Bridges Investment Management Inc. lessened its holdings in shares of Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA - Free Report) by 2.3% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 394,500 shares of the credit services provider's stock after selling 9,187 shares during the period. Mastercard makes up 3.1% of Bridges Investment Management Inc.'s holdings, making the stock its 7th biggest position. Bridges Investment Management Inc.'s holdings in Mastercard were worth $216,233,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Founders Financial Alliance LLC raised its stake in Mastercard by 2.9% during the 4th quarter. Founders Financial Alliance LLC now owns 676 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $356,000 after purchasing an additional 19 shares during the period. BlackDiamond Wealth Management LLC grew its holdings in Mastercard by 2.3% during the 4th quarter. BlackDiamond Wealth Management LLC now owns 846 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $445,000 after buying an additional 19 shares in the last quarter. Fi3 FINANCIAL ADVISORS LLC grew its holdings in Mastercard by 2.6% during the 4th quarter. Fi3 FINANCIAL ADVISORS LLC now owns 736 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $388,000 after buying an additional 19 shares in the last quarter. Strategy Asset Managers LLC grew its holdings in Mastercard by 2.1% during the 4th quarter. Strategy Asset Managers LLC now owns 911 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $480,000 after buying an additional 19 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Phillips Wealth Planners LLC grew its holdings in Mastercard by 1.8% during the 1st quarter. Phillips Wealth Planners LLC now owns 1,055 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $538,000 after buying an additional 19 shares in the last quarter. 97.28% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on the company. Citigroup lifted their target price on Mastercard from $650.00 to $652.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, May 5th. Wall Street Zen downgraded Mastercard from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Saturday, June 14th. KeyCorp boosted their price target on Mastercard from $630.00 to $635.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, May 2nd. Wolfe Research set a $655.00 price objective on Mastercard in a report on Monday, June 23rd. Finally, Monness Crespi & Hardt cut Mastercard from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 9th. Seven investment 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. According to MarketBeat, Mastercard presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $611.50.

Insider Activity at Mastercard

In other news, Director Julius Genachowski sold 312 shares of Mastercard stock in a transaction on Monday, July 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $570.67, for a total value of $178,049.04. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 8,469 shares of the company's stock, valued at $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 available through this link. Also, insider Raj Seshadri sold 1,100 shares of Mastercard stock in a transaction on Friday, June 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $546.77, for a total transaction of $601,447.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 12,921 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,064,815.17. This trade represents a 7.85% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 38,753 shares of company stock worth $20,351,084. 0.09% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Mastercard Stock Performance

MA stock traded down $0.91 during trading on Thursday, reaching $564.21. The company had a trading volume of 1,106,008 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,672,339. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.81, a quick ratio of 1.11 and a current ratio of 1.11. Mastercard Incorporated has a twelve month low of $428.86 and a twelve month high of $594.71. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $568.25 and a 200-day simple moving average of $547.33. The company has a market cap of $514.39 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 39.60, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.44 and a beta of 1.02.

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

Mastercard Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 8th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, July 9th will be paid a dividend of $0.76 per share. This represents a $3.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.54%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, July 9th. Mastercard's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 21.32%.

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.