Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) Shares Sold by Saturna Capital Corp

Saturna Capital Corp decreased its holdings in shares of Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA - Free Report) by 9.5% in the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 6,172 shares of the credit services provider's stock after selling 650 shares during the period. Saturna Capital Corp's holdings in Mastercard were worth $3,383,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of MA. Fi3 FINANCIAL ADVISORS LLC grew its holdings in Mastercard by 2.6% during the 4th quarter. Fi3 FINANCIAL ADVISORS LLC now owns 736 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $388,000 after purchasing an additional 19 shares in the last quarter. Strategy Asset Managers LLC boosted its stake in Mastercard by 2.1% during the 4th quarter. Strategy Asset Managers LLC now owns 911 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $480,000 after acquiring an additional 19 shares during the last quarter. Phillips Wealth Planners LLC boosted its stake in Mastercard by 1.8% during the 1st quarter. Phillips Wealth Planners LLC now owns 1,055 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $538,000 after acquiring an additional 19 shares during the last quarter. Alta Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Mastercard by 3.6% during the 1st quarter. Alta Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 540 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $296,000 after acquiring an additional 19 shares during the last quarter. Finally, May Hill Capital LLC boosted its stake in Mastercard by 2.0% during the 1st quarter. May Hill Capital LLC now owns 986 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $540,000 after acquiring an additional 19 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 97.28% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have commented on the stock. UBS Group increased their price objective on shares of Mastercard from $660.00 to $670.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 3rd. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Mastercard from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Saturday, June 14th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft initiated coverage on shares of Mastercard in a research note on Thursday. They set a "buy" rating and a $650.00 price objective on the stock. KeyCorp raised their price target on shares of Mastercard from $630.00 to $635.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, May 2nd. Finally, Monness Crespi & Hardt downgraded shares of Mastercard from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 9th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-four have issued a buy rating and three have issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $612.90.

Mastercard Price Performance

Mastercard stock traded down $3.09 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $552.52. 2,579,579 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,663,399. The firm has a market cap of $503.74 billion, a P/E ratio of 38.75, a P/E/G ratio of 2.41 and a beta of 1.02. The company has a quick ratio of 1.11, a current ratio of 1.11 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.81. The firm's 50-day simple moving average is $567.61 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $548.26. Mastercard Incorporated has a 1-year low of $428.86 and a 1-year high of $594.71.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, May 1st. The credit services provider reported $3.73 EPS 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 analysts' expectations of $7.12 billion. Mastercard had a net margin of 45.21% and a return on equity of 196.87%. Mastercard's quarterly revenue was up 14.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $3.31 EPS. As a group, analysts forecast that Mastercard Incorporated will post 15.91 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Mastercard Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 8th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, July 9th will be paid a dividend of $0.76 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, July 9th. This represents a $3.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.55%. Mastercard's payout ratio is 21.32%.

Insider Activity at Mastercard

In other news, insider Raj Seshadri sold 1,100 shares of Mastercard stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, June 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $546.77, for a total value of $601,447.00. Following the transaction, the insider owned 12,921 shares of the company's stock, valued at $7,064,815.17. The trade was a 7.85% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Julius Genachowski sold 312 shares of Mastercard stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, July 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $570.67, for a total transaction of $178,049.04. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 8,469 shares in the company, valued at $4,833,004.23. This represents a 3.55% 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 90 days. Corporate insiders own 0.09% of the company's stock.

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.