Nottingham Advisors Inc. Cuts Stock Holdings in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA)

Key Points

• Nottingham Advisors Inc. reduced its stake in Mastercard by 52.2% during the 1st quarter, owning 1,190 shares valued at $652,000 after selling 1,300 shares.
• Insider Linda Pistecchia Kirkpatrick sold 958 shares for approximately $536,480, while another insider, Raj Seshadri, sold 1,100 shares totaling $601,447, representing significant decreases in their ownership.
• Analysts maintain a generally favorable outlook on Mastercard, with an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $612.90.

Nottingham Advisors Inc. cut its holdings in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA - Free Report) by 52.2% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,190 shares of the credit services provider's stock after selling 1,300 shares during the period. Nottingham Advisors Inc.'s holdings in Mastercard were worth $652,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in MA. FMR LLC increased 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 in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in Mastercard by 1.5% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 18,657,792 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $9,800,202,000 after purchasing an additional 282,739 shares in the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP increased its holdings in Mastercard by 9.1% during the 4th quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 9,760,740 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $5,139,713,000 after purchasing an additional 817,836 shares in the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp increased its holdings in Mastercard by 15.2% during 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. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC increased its holdings in 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. 97.28% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Mastercard Stock Performance

MA stock traded up $15.17 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $574.28. 2,348,771 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,814,134. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $564.74 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $550.97. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.81, a quick ratio of 1.11 and a current ratio of 1.11. Mastercard Incorporated has a 52 week low of $439.59 and a 52 week high of $594.71. The firm has a market capitalization of $523.57 billion, a PE ratio of 40.28, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.44 and a beta of 1.02.

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 analysts' consensus estimates of $4.05 by $0.10. Mastercard had a return on equity of 196.87% and a net margin of 45.21%. The company's quarterly revenue was up 16.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $3.50 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Mastercard Incorporated will post 15.91 EPS for the current year.

Mastercard Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 8th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, July 9th will be given a dividend of $0.76 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, July 9th. This represents a $3.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.53%. Mastercard's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 21.32%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, insider Craig Vosburg sold 9,428 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, June 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $353.05, for a total value of $3,328,555.40. Following the transaction, the insider owned 58,451 shares of the company's stock, valued at $20,636,125.55. This represents a 13.89% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, 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 transaction, the insider directly owned 23,624 shares in the company, valued at approximately $13,229,440. This represents a 3.90% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 38,753 shares of company stock worth $20,351,084. Insiders own 0.09% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have commented on MA shares. Truist Financial decreased their price objective on Mastercard from $640.00 to $612.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, July 17th. Seaport Res Ptn raised Mastercard from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Monday, July 14th. 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. Royal Bank Of Canada restated an "outperform" rating and issued a $650.00 target price on shares of Mastercard in a research note on Tuesday, July 15th. Finally, Monness Crespi & Hardt downgraded Mastercard from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 9th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-five have issued a buy rating and three have given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $612.90.

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.