Lbp Am Sa Sells 14,596 Shares of Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA)

LBP AM SA trimmed its position in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA - Free Report) by 4.5% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 306,281 shares of the credit services provider's stock after selling 14,596 shares during the quarter. Mastercard makes up approximately 2.6% of LBP AM SA's portfolio, making the stock its 7th biggest holding. LBP AM SA's holdings in Mastercard were worth $167,879,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Founders Financial Alliance LLC grew its holdings in Mastercard by 2.9% during the fourth 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 fourth quarter. BlackDiamond Wealth Management LLC now owns 846 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $445,000 after purchasing an additional 19 shares during the period. Fi3 FINANCIAL ADVISORS LLC grew its holdings in 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 period. Strategy Asset Managers LLC grew its holdings in 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 period. Finally, Phillips Wealth Planners LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Mastercard by 1.8% in the first quarter. Phillips Wealth Planners LLC now owns 1,055 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $538,000 after acquiring an additional 19 shares during the period. 97.28% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Mastercard Stock Performance

Shares of Mastercard stock traded down $13.48 during trading on Friday, hitting $550.04. 3,221,317 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,666,632. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.81, a quick ratio of 1.11 and a current ratio of 1.11. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $568.42 and a 200-day simple moving average of $547.67. Mastercard Incorporated has a 52-week low of $428.86 and a 52-week high of $594.71. The stock has a market capitalization of $501.48 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 38.57, a PEG ratio of 2.45 and a beta of 1.02.

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

Mastercard Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 8th. Stockholders 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.55%. Mastercard's dividend payout ratio is currently 21.32%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

MA has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Wolfe Research set a $655.00 price target on Mastercard in a report on Monday, June 23rd. KeyCorp raised their price target on Mastercard from $630.00 to $635.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, May 2nd. The Goldman Sachs Group reaffirmed a "buy" rating and issued a $633.00 price target on shares of Mastercard in a report on Wednesday, April 2nd. Jefferies Financial Group reaffirmed a "buy" rating on shares of Mastercard in a report on Friday, June 6th. Finally, Wall Street Zen lowered Mastercard from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday, June 14th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-four have assigned a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $611.50.

Insider Activity at Mastercard

In related news, 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 transaction of $536,480.00. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 23,624 shares in the company, valued at approximately $13,229,440. The trade was a 3.90% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Raj Seshadri sold 1,100 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Friday, June 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $546.77, for a total transaction of $601,447.00. Following the transaction, the insider owned 12,921 shares in the company, valued at $7,064,815.17. The trade was a 7.85% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders 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 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.