Value Partners Investments Inc. Has $2.94 Million Stock Position in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA)

Value Partners Investments Inc. lessened its holdings in shares of Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA - Free Report) by 32.7% in the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 5,363 shares of the credit services provider's stock after selling 2,602 shares during the period. Value Partners Investments Inc.'s holdings in Mastercard were worth $2,941,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of MA. Brighton Jones LLC grew its holdings in Mastercard by 42.3% during the 4th 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 period. Bank Pictet & Cie Europe AG grew its holdings in shares of Mastercard by 11.8% in the 4th quarter. Bank Pictet & Cie Europe AG now owns 70,472 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $37,108,000 after buying an additional 7,452 shares during the period. Pine Valley Investments Ltd Liability Co grew its holdings in shares of Mastercard by 10.3% in the 4th quarter. Pine Valley Investments Ltd Liability Co now owns 2,669 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $1,406,000 after buying an additional 249 shares during the period. Exchange Capital Management Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Mastercard by 4.7% in the 4th quarter. Exchange Capital Management Inc. now owns 470 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $247,000 after buying an additional 21 shares during the period. Finally, FFT Wealth Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Mastercard by 3.1% in the 4th quarter. FFT Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,733 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $1,439,000 after buying an additional 81 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 97.28% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Sandra A. Arkell sold 150 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $569.45, for a total value of $85,417.50. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 3,555 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,024,394.75. This represents a 4.05% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Raj Seshadri sold 949 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Friday, June 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $535.80, for a total transaction of $508,474.20. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 14,021 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,512,451.80. This trade represents a 6.34% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 36,383 shares of company stock valued at $19,035,108. 0.09% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on MA shares. The Goldman Sachs Group reissued a "buy" rating and issued a $633.00 price target on shares of Mastercard in a report on Wednesday, April 2nd. Citigroup boosted their price target on shares of Mastercard from $650.00 to $652.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, May 5th. Tigress Financial reaffirmed a "strong-buy" rating on shares of Mastercard in a research note on Monday, March 10th. Evercore ISI started coverage on shares of Mastercard in a research note on Wednesday, April 9th. They issued an "in-line" rating and a $550.00 target price for the company. Finally, Truist Financial started coverage on shares of Mastercard in a research note on Monday, June 2nd. They issued a "buy" rating and a $640.00 target price for the company. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-four have given a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Mastercard presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $611.50.

Mastercard Stock Up 1.1%

NYSE:MA traded up $6.21 on Friday, hitting $552.02. 3,836,616 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,661,414. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $563.13 and a 200-day moving average price of $545.53. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.81, a current ratio of 1.11 and a quick ratio of 1.11. Mastercard Incorporated has a 52 week low of $428.86 and a 52 week high of $594.71. The company has a market cap of $503.28 billion, a P/E ratio of 38.71, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.40 and a beta of 1.05.

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

Mastercard Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 8th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, July 9th will be issued a $0.76 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, July 9th. This represents a $3.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.55%. Mastercard's payout ratio is 21.32%.

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.