Perennial Advisors LLC Cuts Stake in Mastercard Incorporated $MA

Key Points

• Perennial Advisors LLC reduced its stake in Mastercard by 4.6%, now holding 24,437 shares, which represents 2.6% of its investment portfolio and is valued at approximately $13.73 million.
• Mastercard's CFO, J. Mehra Sachin, sold 17,816 shares, reducing his ownership by 36.32%, while two other insiders also sold shares, collectively amounting to 37,449 shares valued at around $22 million over the last quarter.
• Analysts maintain a consensus of a "Buy" rating for Mastercard, with recent price target increases suggesting confidence in the company’s future performance.

Perennial Advisors LLC cut its holdings in shares of Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA - Free Report) by 4.6% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 24,437 shares of the credit services provider's stock after selling 1,179 shares during the quarter. Mastercard accounts for 2.6% of Perennial Advisors LLC's investment portfolio, making the stock its 11th largest position. Perennial Advisors LLC's holdings in Mastercard were worth $13,732,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Family Legacy Financial Solutions LLC acquired a new position in Mastercard during the 2nd quarter worth $26,000. Flaharty Asset Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Mastercard in the 1st quarter valued at about $27,000. Keystone Global Partners LLC acquired a new position in shares of Mastercard during the first quarter worth about $31,000. Hughes Financial Services LLC acquired a new position in shares of Mastercard during the first quarter worth about $34,000. Finally, 1 North Wealth Services LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Mastercard during the first quarter worth approximately $44,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 97.28% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CFO J. Mehra Sachin sold 17,816 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $586.89, for a total transaction of $10,456,032.24. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 31,234 shares of the company's stock, valued at $18,330,922.26. This trade represents a 36.32% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, insider Linda Pistecchia Kirkpatrick sold 958 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Monday, June 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $560.00, for a total transaction of $536,480.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 23,624 shares in the company, valued at $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 quarter, insiders have sold 37,449 shares of company stock valued at $21,974,441. Company insiders own 0.09% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on MA shares. The Goldman Sachs Group reiterated a "buy" rating on shares of Mastercard in a research note on Friday, August 1st. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft began coverage on shares of Mastercard in a report on Thursday, July 17th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $650.00 price objective on the stock. KeyCorp lifted their price objective on shares of Mastercard from $635.00 to $660.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, August 1st. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on Mastercard from $625.00 to $650.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, August 1st. Finally, Wolfe Research set a $655.00 price target on Mastercard in a report on Monday, June 23rd. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-four have assigned a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and an average target price of $630.89.

Mastercard Trading Down 0.2%

Shares of Mastercard stock opened at $568.63 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.41, a quick ratio of 1.16 and a current ratio of 1.16. The company has a market capitalization of $514.05 billion, a P/E ratio of 38.34, a PEG ratio of 2.34 and a beta of 0.99. Mastercard Incorporated has a 1 year low of $465.59 and a 1 year high of $601.77. The company's fifty day moving average is $578.51 and its two-hundred day moving average is $559.55.

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

Mastercard Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 7th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, October 9th will be given a dividend of $0.76 per share. This represents a $3.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.5%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, October 9th. Mastercard's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 20.50%.

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.

Want to see what other hedge funds are holding MA? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA - Free Report).

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest and most accurate reporting. This story was reviewed by MarketBeat's editorial team prior to publication. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.