Mesirow Financial Investment Management Inc. Cuts Stock Holdings in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA)

Key Points

• Mesirow Financial Investment Management Inc. reduced its stake in Mastercard by 1.2%, now holding 57,478 shares valued at approximately $31.5 million.
• Mastercard reported earnings of $3.73 per share for the previous quarter, surpassing estimates and reflecting a 14.2% increase in revenue year-over-year.
• The company has announced a quarterly dividend of $0.76 per share, representing a dividend yield of 0.54%, with the payout scheduled for August 8th.

Mesirow Financial Investment Management Inc. reduced its position in shares of Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA - Free Report) by 1.2% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 57,478 shares of the credit services provider's stock after selling 704 shares during the quarter. Mesirow Financial Investment Management Inc.'s holdings in Mastercard were worth $31,505,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. FMR LLC lifted its holdings in Mastercard by 4.3% during the 4th quarter. FMR LLC now owns 22,267,937 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $11,725,627,000 after purchasing an additional 912,856 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its position in Mastercard by 1.5% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 18,657,792 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $9,800,202,000 after acquiring an additional 282,739 shares during the period. Northern Trust Corp raised its stake in Mastercard by 15.2% in the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 9,149,181 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $4,817,684,000 after purchasing an additional 1,207,787 shares in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its position in shares of Mastercard by 65,631.5% during the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 8,225,637 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $4,508,636,000 after purchasing an additional 8,213,123 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Nuveen Asset Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Mastercard by 1.0% during the fourth quarter. Nuveen Asset Management LLC now owns 7,610,333 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $4,007,373,000 after purchasing an additional 71,874 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 97.28% of the company's stock.

Mastercard Trading Down 1.2%

Shares of NYSE:MA traded down $6.74 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $559.73. The company's stock had a trading volume of 3,316,713 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,427,760. Mastercard Incorporated has a fifty-two week low of $439.59 and a fifty-two week high of $594.71. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.41, a quick ratio of 1.11 and a current ratio of 1.16. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $564.58 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $551.95. The firm has a market capitalization of $510.31 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 37.74, a PEG ratio of 2.43 and a beta of 1.03.

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

Mastercard Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 8th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, July 9th will be issued a $0.76 dividend. This represents a $3.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.5%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, July 9th. Mastercard's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 21.32%.

Insider Activity at Mastercard

In other news, insider Craig Vosburg sold 9,428 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Friday, June 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $353.05, for a total transaction of $3,328,555.40. Following the transaction, the insider owned 58,451 shares in the company, valued at approximately $20,636,125.55. This represents a 13.89% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider Linda Pistecchia Kirkpatrick sold 958 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated 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 approximately $13,229,440. This represents a 3.90% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 38,753 shares of company stock valued at $20,351,084. Company insiders own 0.09% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

MA has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Evercore ISI started coverage on Mastercard in a research note on Wednesday, April 9th. They set an "in-line" rating and a $550.00 price objective on the stock. Monness Crespi & Hardt downgraded shares of Mastercard from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 9th. Morgan Stanley raised their target price on Mastercard from $639.00 to $661.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday. Seaport Res Ptn upgraded Mastercard from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Monday, July 14th. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised Mastercard from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, July 18th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-five have issued a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $615.33.

About Mastercard

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.