Mastercard Incorporated $MA Stock Position Lowered by Akre Capital Management LLC

Key Points

• Akre Capital Management LLC reduced its stake in Mastercard by 10.1%, now holding 3,331,076 shares, which represents approximately 17.6% of its investment portfolio.
• Mastercard reported a Q2 EPS of $4.15, surpassing analysts' expectations of $4.05, along with a revenue of $8.13 billion that also exceeded estimates.
• Insiders at Mastercard sold a total of 38,453 shares worth over $20 million in the last 90 days, representing a significant decrease in their ownership.

Akre Capital Management LLC trimmed its position in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA - Free Report) by 10.1% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 3,331,076 shares of the credit services provider's stock after selling 372,663 shares during the period. Mastercard accounts for approximately 17.6% of Akre Capital Management LLC's investment portfolio, making the stock its biggest holding. Akre Capital Management LLC owned about 0.37% of Mastercard worth $1,825,829,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in MA. Measured Risk Portfolios Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Mastercard during the 4th quarter valued at about $31,000. Navigoe LLC purchased a new position in shares of Mastercard during the 4th quarter valued at about $33,000. 10Elms LLP purchased a new position in shares of Mastercard during the 4th quarter valued at about $33,000. Hughes Financial Services LLC purchased a new position in shares of Mastercard during the 1st quarter valued at about $34,000. Finally, Mpwm Advisory Solutions LLC purchased a new position in shares of Mastercard during the 4th quarter valued at about $36,000. 97.28% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on MA shares. Macquarie reduced their price objective on Mastercard from $645.00 to $610.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, May 2nd. Royal Bank Of Canada increased their target price on shares of Mastercard from $650.00 to $656.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, August 1st. UBS Group increased their target price on shares of Mastercard from $660.00 to $670.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 3rd. Seaport Res Ptn raised shares of Mastercard from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Monday, July 14th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group reissued a "buy" rating on shares of Mastercard in a research note on Friday, August 1st. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-four have issued a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Mastercard has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $617.93.

Mastercard Price Performance

MA traded up $1.6290 during trading on Tuesday, reaching $585.7690. The company's stock had a trading volume of 2,334,029 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,548,391. The company has a quick ratio of 1.16, a current ratio of 1.16 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.41. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $563.30 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $554.81. Mastercard Incorporated has a 1 year low of $461.90 and a 1 year high of $594.71. The company has a market cap of $529.54 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 39.50, a PEG ratio of 2.40 and a beta of 1.03.

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

Mastercard Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 8th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, July 9th were paid a $0.76 dividend. This represents a $3.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.5%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, July 9th. Mastercard's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 20.50%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Mastercard

In other Mastercard news, insider Linda Pistecchia Kirkpatrick sold 959 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, June 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $572.86, for a total value of $549,372.74. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 25,540 shares of the company's stock, valued at $14,630,844.40. This trade represents a 3.62% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider Raj Seshadri sold 1,100 shares of Mastercard stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the insider directly owned 12,921 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,064,815.17. The trade was a 7.85% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 38,453 shares of company stock valued at $20,178,667. 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.