GKV Capital Management Co. Inc. Cuts Stock Position in Mastercard Incorporated $MA

Key Points

• GKV Capital Management Co. Inc. reduced its stake in Mastercard by 97.7% in the first quarter, leaving it with only 66 shares.
• Mastercard reported a strong performance in its latest quarterly earnings, beating analysts' expectations with $4.15 earnings per share and $8.13 billion in revenue.
• Research analysts remain optimistic about Mastercard's future, with a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a target price of $615.33.

GKV Capital Management Co. Inc. trimmed its holdings in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA - Free Report) by 97.7% in the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 66 shares of the credit services provider's stock after selling 2,859 shares during the period. GKV Capital Management Co. Inc.'s holdings in Mastercard were worth $36,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of MA. Measured Risk Portfolios Inc. acquired a new stake in Mastercard during the fourth quarter worth about $31,000. 10Elms LLP acquired a new stake in shares of Mastercard during the fourth quarter valued at about $33,000. Hughes Financial Services LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Mastercard during the first quarter valued at about $34,000. Navigoe LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Mastercard during the fourth quarter valued at about $33,000. Finally, Mpwm Advisory Solutions LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Mastercard during the fourth quarter valued at about $36,000. 97.28% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms recently weighed in on MA. The Goldman Sachs Group restated a "buy" rating on shares of Mastercard in a research note on Friday, August 1st. Citigroup increased their price target on shares of Mastercard from $650.00 to $652.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, May 5th. KeyCorp raised their price objective on shares of Mastercard from $635.00 to $660.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, August 1st. Seaport Res Ptn upgraded shares of Mastercard from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Monday, July 14th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on shares of Mastercard from $625.00 to $650.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, August 1st. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-five have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Mastercard currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $617.93.

Insider Activity at Mastercard

In other news, Director Julius Genachowski sold 312 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Monday, July 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $570.67, for a total transaction of $178,049.04. Following the sale, the director owned 8,469 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,833,004.23. The trade was a 3.55% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider Raj Seshadri sold 1,100 shares of the business's stock in a transaction 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 owned 12,921 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,064,815.17. This trade represents a 7.85% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 38,453 shares of company stock valued at $20,178,667 in the last 90 days. 0.09% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Mastercard Stock Up 0.0%

Shares of Mastercard stock traded up $0.14 during trading on Monday, reaching $581.84. 826,288 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,805,105. 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 1-year low of $461.90 and a 1-year high of $594.71. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $563.30 and a 200-day moving average price of $554.61. The firm has a market capitalization of $525.99 billion, a PE ratio of 39.23, a P/E/G ratio of 2.39 and a beta of 1.03.

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

Mastercard Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 8th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, July 9th were given a dividend of $0.76 per share. 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 payout ratio is presently 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.