OMC Financial Services LTD Reduces Position in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA)

OMC Financial Services LTD lowered its stake in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA - Free Report) by 2.5% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 36,536 shares of the credit services provider's stock after selling 949 shares during the quarter. Mastercard comprises about 9.0% of OMC Financial Services LTD's portfolio, making the stock its 3rd biggest holding. OMC Financial Services LTD's holdings in Mastercard were worth $20,026,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of MA. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in Mastercard by 0.5% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 77,179,138 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $40,640,219,000 after acquiring an additional 377,302 shares during the last quarter. FMR LLC lifted its holdings in Mastercard by 4.3% in the 4th quarter. FMR LLC now owns 22,267,937 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $11,725,627,000 after acquiring an additional 912,856 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in Mastercard by 1.5% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 18,657,792 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $9,800,202,000 after acquiring an additional 282,739 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in Mastercard in the 4th quarter valued at about $6,022,224,000. Finally, Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its holdings in Mastercard by 9.1% in the 4th quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 9,760,740 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $5,139,713,000 after acquiring an additional 817,836 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 97.28% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Mastercard

In related 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 transaction of $549,372.74. Following the transaction, the insider owned 25,540 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $14,630,844.40. This trade represents a 3.62% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Raj Seshadri sold 1,100 shares of the firm's 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 transaction, 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. Insiders sold a total of 38,753 shares of company stock worth $20,351,084 in the last ninety days. Insiders own 0.09% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on the stock. Monness Crespi & Hardt downgraded shares of Mastercard from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 9th. KeyCorp upped their price target on shares of Mastercard from $630.00 to $635.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, May 2nd. Jefferies Financial Group reissued a "buy" rating on shares of Mastercard in a report on Friday, June 6th. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Mastercard from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Saturday, June 14th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group reaffirmed a "buy" rating and set a $633.00 price objective on shares of Mastercard in a research note on Wednesday, April 2nd. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-four have assigned a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $611.50.

Mastercard Stock Down 0.1%

MA traded down $0.77 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $564.34. 2,577,223 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,669,861. The company has a market cap of $514.51 billion, a PE ratio of 39.57, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.45 and a beta of 1.02. The stock's fifty day simple moving average is $568.60 and its 200-day simple moving average is $547.57. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.81, a current ratio of 1.11 and a quick ratio of 1.11. Mastercard Incorporated has a one year low of $428.86 and a one year high of $594.71.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 1st. The credit services provider reported $3.73 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.57 by $0.16. The firm had revenue of $7.25 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.12 billion. Mastercard had a net margin of 45.21% and a return on equity of 196.87%. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 14.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $3.31 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Mastercard Incorporated will post 15.91 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Mastercard Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed 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 of this dividend is Wednesday, July 9th. Mastercard's payout ratio is presently 21.32%.

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.