Spire Wealth Management Decreases Stock Position in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA)

Spire Wealth Management trimmed its holdings in shares of Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA - Free Report) by 19.0% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 38,628 shares of the credit services provider's stock after selling 9,062 shares during the quarter. Spire Wealth Management's holdings in Mastercard were worth $21,173,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the business. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in Mastercard by 0.5% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 77,179,138 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $40,640,219,000 after acquiring an additional 377,302 shares during the period. FMR LLC grew its stake in shares of Mastercard by 4.3% in the fourth quarter. FMR LLC now owns 22,267,937 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $11,725,627,000 after purchasing an additional 912,856 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in Mastercard by 1.5% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 18,657,792 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $9,800,202,000 after purchasing an additional 282,739 shares during the period. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in Mastercard in the fourth quarter valued at $6,022,224,000. Finally, Wellington Management Group LLP raised its position in Mastercard by 9.1% during the 4th quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 9,760,740 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $5,139,713,000 after purchasing an additional 817,836 shares during the last quarter. 97.28% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, insider Sandra A. Arkell sold 150 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $569.45, for a total transaction of $85,417.50. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 3,555 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,024,394.75. This trade represents a 4.05% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider Craig Vosburg sold 9,428 shares of Mastercard stock in a transaction dated Thursday, June 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $588.18, for a total transaction of $5,545,361.04. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 58,451 shares in the company, valued at approximately $34,379,709.18. This represents a 13.89% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 35,115 shares of company stock valued at $18,324,718 in the last 90 days. 0.09% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on MA. Jefferies Financial Group restated a "buy" rating on shares of Mastercard in a research report on Friday, June 6th. Evercore ISI assumed coverage on shares of Mastercard in a research report on Wednesday, April 9th. They set an "in-line" rating and a $550.00 target price for the company. UBS Group boosted their price target on shares of Mastercard from $660.00 to $670.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, June 3rd. The Goldman Sachs Group reaffirmed a "buy" rating and issued a $633.00 price objective on shares of Mastercard in a research note on Wednesday, April 2nd. Finally, Tigress Financial reissued a "strong-buy" rating on shares of Mastercard in a research note on Monday, March 10th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-four have assigned a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $611.50.

Mastercard Stock Down 0.7%

NYSE MA traded down $4.05 on Thursday, reaching $545.65. The company had a trading volume of 929,043 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,653,785. 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 company's fifty day moving average is $561.86 and its 200 day moving average is $545.04. Mastercard Incorporated has a 52-week low of $428.86 and a 52-week high of $594.71. The stock has a market capitalization of $497.47 billion, a P/E ratio of 38.23, a P/E/G ratio of 2.43 and a beta of 1.05.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA - Get Free Report) last announced 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. Mastercard had a net margin of 45.21% and a return on equity of 196.87%. The company had revenue of $7.25 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.12 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $3.31 earnings per share. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 14.2% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Mastercard Incorporated will post 15.91 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Mastercard Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 8th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, July 9th will be given a dividend of $0.76 per share. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, July 9th. This represents a $3.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.56%. Mastercard's dividend payout ratio is currently 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.