Securian Asset Management Inc. Cuts Stake in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA)

Securian Asset Management Inc. cut its holdings in shares of Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA - Free Report) by 2.1% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 43,141 shares of the credit services provider's stock after selling 915 shares during the quarter. Mastercard accounts for approximately 0.7% of Securian Asset Management Inc.'s holdings, making the stock its 24th biggest holding. Securian Asset Management Inc.'s holdings in Mastercard were worth $23,646,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Whalerock Point Partners LLC increased its stake in shares of Mastercard by 1.3% in the fourth quarter. Whalerock Point Partners LLC now owns 14,678 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $7,729,000 after buying an additional 185 shares during the period. Fortis Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Mastercard by 9.4% in the first quarter. Fortis Advisors LLC now owns 871 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $477,000 after acquiring an additional 75 shares during the period. Canandaigua National Trust Co of Florida raised its stake in shares of Mastercard by 36.4% during the first quarter. Canandaigua National Trust Co of Florida now owns 693 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $380,000 after acquiring an additional 185 shares during the last quarter. Kingswood Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Mastercard by 18.0% during the first quarter. Kingswood Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 6,870 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $3,766,000 after purchasing an additional 1,047 shares during the period. Finally, Baldwin Investment Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Mastercard by 5.7% during the fourth quarter. Baldwin Investment Management LLC now owns 1,731 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $911,000 after purchasing an additional 93 shares during the period. 97.28% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

MA has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Wall Street Zen downgraded Mastercard from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday, June 14th. Monness Crespi & Hardt cut Mastercard from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 9th. KeyCorp upped their target price on Mastercard from $630.00 to $635.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, May 2nd. Wolfe Research set a $655.00 price target on shares of Mastercard in a report on Monday, June 23rd. Finally, Macquarie reduced their price objective on shares of Mastercard from $645.00 to $610.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, May 2nd. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-four have given a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Mastercard presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $611.50.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, 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 value of $601,447.00. Following the sale, the insider owned 12,921 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,064,815.17. This trade represents a 7.85% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Julius Genachowski sold 312 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the director owned 8,469 shares of the company's stock, valued at $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. Insiders have sold a total of 38,753 shares of company stock valued at $20,351,084 over the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 0.09% of the company's stock.

Mastercard Trading Down 2.4%

Shares of NYSE MA opened at $550.04 on Monday. The firm's 50 day moving average price is $568.42 and its 200-day moving average price is $547.84. Mastercard Incorporated has a 52-week low of $428.86 and a 52-week high of $594.71. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.81, a quick ratio of 1.11 and a current ratio of 1.11. The company has a market cap of $501.48 billion, a PE ratio of 38.57, a P/E/G ratio of 2.39 and a beta of 1.02.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 1st. The credit services provider reported $3.73 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.57 by $0.16. Mastercard had a return on equity of 196.87% and a net margin of 45.21%. The business had revenue of $7.25 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $7.12 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $3.31 EPS. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 14.2% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts expect that Mastercard Incorporated will post 15.91 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Mastercard Dividend Announcement

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. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, July 9th. This represents a $3.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.55%. Mastercard's dividend payout ratio (DPR) 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.

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