Renasant Bank Sells 862 Shares of Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA)

Key Points

• Renasant Bank reduced its holdings in Mastercard by 41.8%, selling 862 shares, which leaves the bank with 1,199 shares valued at approximately $657,000.
• Mastercard's recent quarterly earnings report showed an EPS of $4.15, exceeding analysts' expectations and indicating a 16.8% year-over-year revenue growth.
• Insider transactions revealed significant sales, with insider Linda Pistecchia Kirkpatrick selling 959 shares and Craig Vosburg selling 14,051 shares, leading to notable decreases in their stock ownership.

Renasant Bank lowered its position in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA - Free Report) by 41.8% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,199 shares of the credit services provider's stock after selling 862 shares during the quarter. Renasant Bank's holdings in Mastercard were worth $657,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Measured Risk Portfolios Inc. purchased a new stake in Mastercard during the 4th quarter worth about $31,000. Navigoe LLC purchased a new stake in Mastercard in the 4th quarter valued at about $33,000. 10Elms LLP purchased a new stake in Mastercard in the 4th quarter valued at about $33,000. Hughes Financial Services LLC purchased a new stake in Mastercard in the 1st quarter valued at about $34,000. Finally, Mpwm Advisory Solutions LLC purchased a new stake in Mastercard in the 4th quarter valued at about $36,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 97.28% of the company's stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Linda Pistecchia Kirkpatrick sold 959 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Friday, June 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $572.86, for a total value of $549,372.74. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 25,540 shares in the company, valued at $14,630,844.40. The trade was a 3.62% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Julius Genachowski sold 312 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $570.67, for a total value of $178,049.04. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 8,469 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,833,004.23. This trade represents a 3.55% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 38,603 shares of company stock valued at $20,265,667. Insiders own 0.09% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have recently weighed in on MA. Wall Street Zen raised Mastercard from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, July 18th. Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on Mastercard from $639.00 to $661.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, August 1st. Wolfe Research set a $655.00 target price on Mastercard in a research report on Monday, June 23rd. UBS Group upped their target price on Mastercard from $660.00 to $670.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, June 3rd. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group reaffirmed a "buy" rating on shares of Mastercard in a research report on Friday, June 6th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-five have assigned a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $615.33.

Mastercard Price Performance

Shares of MA traded down $7.78 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $561.35. The company had a trading volume of 2,979,577 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,598,424. Mastercard Incorporated has a twelve month low of $451.03 and a twelve month high of $594.71. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.41, a current ratio of 1.16 and a quick ratio of 1.16. The company's 50-day moving average is $564.08 and its 200-day moving average is $552.92. The company has a market capitalization of $511.79 billion, a P/E ratio of 37.85, a P/E/G ratio of 2.34 and a beta of 1.03.

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

Mastercard Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 8th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, July 9th will be issued a dividend of $0.76 per share. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, July 9th. This represents a $3.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.5%. Mastercard's payout ratio is currently 20.50%.

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.