Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) is Meritage Portfolio Management's 10th Largest Position

Meritage Portfolio Management decreased its holdings in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA - Free Report) by 2.2% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 36,956 shares of the credit services provider's stock after selling 824 shares during the period. Mastercard comprises approximately 1.3% of Meritage Portfolio Management's portfolio, making the stock its 10th largest position. Meritage Portfolio Management's holdings in Mastercard were worth $20,256,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. NewSquare Capital LLC acquired a new stake in Mastercard during the 4th quarter worth $26,000. Measured Risk Portfolios Inc. acquired a new position in Mastercard in the fourth quarter valued at $31,000. 10Elms LLP purchased a new stake in shares of Mastercard in the fourth quarter valued at about $33,000. Navigoe LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Mastercard in the fourth quarter valued at about $33,000. Finally, Truvestments Capital LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Mastercard by 62.5% in the fourth quarter. Truvestments Capital LLC now owns 65 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $34,000 after acquiring an additional 25 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 97.28% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Mastercard from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday, June 14th. UBS Group boosted their price objective on shares of Mastercard from $660.00 to $670.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, June 3rd. The Goldman Sachs Group reissued a "buy" rating and set a $633.00 price objective on shares of Mastercard in a report on Wednesday, April 2nd. Tigress Financial reissued a "strong-buy" rating on shares of Mastercard in a report on Monday, March 10th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group reissued a "buy" rating on shares of Mastercard in a report on Friday, June 6th. 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, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $611.50.

Mastercard Trading Up 0.9%

Shares of NYSE:MA traded up $5.01 during trading on Friday, reaching $566.53. The stock had a trading volume of 1,528,739 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,668,807. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $566.83 and a 200-day moving average price of $546.49. The company has a quick ratio of 1.11, a current ratio of 1.11 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.81. The stock has a market cap of $516.51 billion, a P/E ratio of 39.73, a PEG ratio of 2.47 and a beta of 1.02. Mastercard Incorporated has a fifty-two week low of $428.86 and a fifty-two week high of $594.71.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA - Get Free Report) last posted 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 business had revenue of $7.25 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.12 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $3.31 earnings per share. The company's revenue was up 14.2% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts anticipate that Mastercard Incorporated will post 15.91 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Mastercard Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 8th. Investors of record on Wednesday, July 9th will be given a dividend of $0.76 per share. This represents a $3.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.54%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, July 9th. Mastercard's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 21.32%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, insider Linda Pistecchia Kirkpatrick sold 958 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, June 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $560.00, for a total value of $536,480.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 23,624 shares of the company's stock, valued at $13,229,440. This represents a 3.90% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Julius Genachowski sold 310 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, June 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $561.00, for a total transaction of $173,910.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 8,323 shares of the company's stock, valued at $4,669,203. The trade was a 3.59% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 38,441 shares of company stock valued at $20,173,035. 0.09% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.