Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) Shares Sold by Pacer Advisors Inc.

Key Points

• Pacer Advisors Inc. reduced its stake in Mastercard by 36.5%, selling 25,261 shares and bringing its total holdings to 44,027 shares worth approximately $24.1 million.
• Mastercard reported a quarterly earnings per share (EPS) of $3.73, exceeding analysts' expectations of $3.57, and showed a year-over-year revenue increase of 14.2%.
• The company declared a quarterly dividend of $0.76, with an annualized yield of 0.54%, set to be paid on August 8th.

Pacer Advisors Inc. cut its stake in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA - Free Report) by 36.5% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 44,027 shares of the credit services provider's stock after selling 25,261 shares during the period. Pacer Advisors Inc.'s holdings in Mastercard were worth $24,132,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. GAMMA Investing LLC grew 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 acquiring an additional 8,213,123 shares in the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp boosted its holdings in shares of Mastercard by 15.2% in the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 9,149,181 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $4,817,684,000 after buying an additional 1,207,787 shares in the last quarter. Sanders Capital LLC bought a new stake in shares of Mastercard in the 4th quarter valued at about $617,303,000. Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH bought a new stake in shares of Mastercard in the 4th quarter valued at about $561,313,000. Finally, Demars Financial Group LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Mastercard by 50,438.6% in the 4th quarter. Demars Financial Group LLC now owns 981,460 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $516,807,000 after buying an additional 979,518 shares in the last quarter. 97.28% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Mastercard Price Performance

NYSE MA traded up $4.68 on Friday, hitting $568.18. The company had a trading volume of 1,513,080 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,459,007. The company has a market capitalization of $518.02 billion, a PE ratio of 39.84, a PEG ratio of 2.46 and a beta of 1.02. The company's fifty day moving average price is $565.61 and its 200-day moving average price is $550.38. 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 12-month low of $432.11 and a 12-month high of $594.71.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 1st. The credit services provider reported $3.73 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.57 by $0.16. The company had revenue of $7.25 billion during 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 firm's revenue was up 14.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $3.31 EPS. As a group, analysts predict that Mastercard Incorporated will post 15.91 earnings per share for the current year.

Mastercard Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 8th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, July 9th will be issued a dividend of $0.76 per share. This represents a $3.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.54%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, July 9th. Mastercard's payout ratio is 21.32%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on MA shares. KeyCorp raised 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. Macquarie lowered their price target on shares of Mastercard from $645.00 to $610.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, May 2nd. Royal Bank Of Canada restated an "outperform" rating and issued a $650.00 price target on shares of Mastercard in a report on Tuesday, July 15th. Evercore ISI initiated coverage on shares of Mastercard in a report on Wednesday, April 9th. They issued an "in-line" rating and a $550.00 price target on the stock. Finally, Monness Crespi & Hardt cut shares of Mastercard from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 9th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-five have assigned a buy rating and three have given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $612.90.

Insider Buying and Selling at Mastercard

In other news, Director Julius Genachowski sold 312 shares of the company'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 completion of the sale, the director owned 8,469 shares of the company's stock, valued at $4,833,004.23. This represents a 3.55% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider Craig Vosburg sold 9,428 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Friday, June 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $353.05, for a total transaction of $3,328,555.40. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 58,451 shares of the company's stock, valued at $20,636,125.55. The trade was a 13.89% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 38,753 shares of company stock worth $20,351,084 over the last three months. 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.