Exencial Wealth Advisors LLC Lowers Position in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA)

Key Points

• Exencial Wealth Advisors LLC reduced its holdings in Mastercard by 13.3%, owning 48,222 shares worth approximately $26.4 million after a sale of 7,404 shares.
• Mastercard reported earnings per share (EPS) of $4.15 for the last quarter, exceeding estimates by $0.10, with revenue increasing by 16.8% year-over-year.
• The company declared a quarterly dividend of $0.76 per share, reflecting an annualized dividend yield of 0.5% and a payout ratio of 20.50%.

Exencial Wealth Advisors LLC cut its holdings in shares of Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA - Free Report) by 13.3% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 48,222 shares of the credit services provider's stock after selling 7,404 shares during the quarter. Mastercard accounts for 1.0% of Exencial Wealth Advisors LLC's investment portfolio, making the stock its 20th largest position. Exencial Wealth Advisors LLC's holdings in Mastercard were worth $26,432,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in MA. Measured Risk Portfolios Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Mastercard in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Navigoe LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Mastercard in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $33,000. 10Elms LLP purchased a new stake in shares of Mastercard in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $33,000. Hughes Financial Services LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Mastercard in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $34,000. Finally, Mpwm Advisory Solutions LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Mastercard in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $36,000. 97.28% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have commented on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group reissued a "buy" rating on shares of Mastercard in a research report on Friday, June 6th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Mastercard from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, July 18th. Seaport Res Ptn raised shares of Mastercard from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Monday, July 14th. Macquarie dropped their target price on shares of Mastercard from $645.00 to $610.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, May 2nd. Finally, Wolfe Research set a $655.00 target price on shares of Mastercard in a research report on Monday, June 23rd. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-five have assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $615.33.

Insider Activity at Mastercard

In other Mastercard news, Director Julius Genachowski sold 312 shares of the firm's 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 completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 8,469 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,833,004.23. This trade represents a 3.55% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider Linda Pistecchia Kirkpatrick sold 958 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $560.00, for a total transaction of $536,480.00. Following the transaction, the insider owned 23,624 shares of the company's stock, valued at $13,229,440. This trade represents a 3.90% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 38,603 shares of company stock worth $20,265,667 over the last three months. 0.09% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Mastercard Stock Performance

Shares of MA stock traded up $13.20 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $574.42. The stock had a trading volume of 2,907,568 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,618,541. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.41, a current ratio of 1.16 and a quick ratio of 1.16. Mastercard Incorporated has a fifty-two week low of $453.46 and a fifty-two week high of $594.71. The company's 50-day simple moving average is $563.90 and its 200-day simple moving average is $553.24. The firm has a market cap of $523.70 billion, a PE ratio of 38.73, a PEG ratio of 2.30 and a beta of 1.03.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 31st. The credit services provider reported $4.15 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 analysts' expectations of $7.95 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $3.50 earnings per share. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 16.8% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Mastercard Incorporated will post 15.91 earnings per share for the current year.

Mastercard Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 8th. Investors of record on Wednesday, July 9th will be paid a $0.76 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, July 9th. This represents a $3.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.5%. Mastercard's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 20.50%.

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.