Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) Shares Sold by Geneos Wealth Management Inc.

Key Points

• Geneos Wealth Management Inc. has reduced its stake in Mastercard by 17.4%, owning 7,241 shares valued at approximately $3.97 million after selling 1,525 shares.
• Several institutional investors, including FMR LLC and GAMMA Investing LLC, have increased their stakes in Mastercard, highlighting strong institutional interest with 97.28% of the company currently held by such investors.
• Mastercard reported a 14.2% year-over-year increase in quarterly revenue, with an EPS of $3.73, surpassing analyst expectations and indicating solid financial performance.

Geneos Wealth Management Inc. trimmed its position in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA - Free Report) by 17.4% in the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 7,241 shares of the credit services provider's stock after selling 1,525 shares during the period. Geneos Wealth Management Inc.'s holdings in Mastercard were worth $3,969,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of MA. Whalerock Point Partners LLC boosted its stake in Mastercard by 1.3% in the fourth quarter. Whalerock Point Partners LLC now owns 14,678 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $7,729,000 after acquiring an additional 185 shares during the period. Fortis Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Mastercard by 9.4% in the first quarter. Fortis Advisors LLC now owns 871 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $477,000 after acquiring an additional 75 shares during the period. Canandaigua National Trust Co of Florida raised its holdings in shares of Mastercard by 36.4% during the first quarter. Canandaigua National Trust Co of Florida now owns 693 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $380,000 after buying an additional 185 shares during the last quarter. Kingswood Wealth Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Mastercard by 18.0% during the first quarter. Kingswood Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 6,870 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $3,766,000 after buying an additional 1,047 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Baldwin Investment Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Mastercard by 5.7% during the fourth quarter. Baldwin Investment Management LLC now owns 1,731 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $911,000 after buying an additional 93 shares during the last quarter. 97.28% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Mastercard Stock Performance

NYSE:MA traded down $6.74 on Friday, reaching $559.73. 3,316,713 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,427,760. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.41, a current ratio of 1.16 and a quick ratio of 1.11. The firm has a market cap of $510.31 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 37.74, a P/E/G ratio of 2.43 and a beta of 1.03. Mastercard Incorporated has a 52 week low of $439.59 and a 52 week high of $594.71. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $564.58 and a 200-day simple moving average of $551.75.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, July 31st. The credit services provider reported $4.15 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $4.05 by $0.10. The business had revenue of $8.13 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.95 billion. Mastercard had a net margin of 44.93% and a return on equity of 200.01%. Mastercard's quarterly revenue was up 16.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm posted $3.50 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Mastercard Incorporated will post 15.91 earnings per share for the current year.

Mastercard Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared 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. The ex-dividend date of this dividend 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 21.32%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages recently commented on MA. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on Mastercard from $625.00 to $650.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday. Royal Bank Of Canada boosted their target price on Mastercard from $650.00 to $656.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday. Jefferies Financial Group reaffirmed a "buy" rating on shares of Mastercard in a report on Friday, June 6th. KeyCorp upped their price target on Mastercard from $635.00 to $660.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised Mastercard from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, July 18th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-five have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, Mastercard has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $615.33.

Insider Buying and Selling at Mastercard

In other news, insider Linda Pistecchia Kirkpatrick sold 959 shares of the company's 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 sale, the insider directly owned 25,540 shares of the company's stock, valued at $14,630,844.40. This represents a 3.62% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Craig Vosburg sold 14,051 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, June 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $585.05, for a total transaction of $8,220,537.55. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 58,451 shares in the company, valued at $34,196,757.55. This represents a 19.38% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders sold 38,753 shares of company stock valued at $20,351,084. 0.09% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.