Stratos Investment Management LLC Cuts Position in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA)

Stratos Investment Management LLC decreased its holdings in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA - Free Report) by 4.9% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 18,372 shares of the credit services provider's stock after selling 946 shares during the period. Stratos Investment Management LLC's holdings in Mastercard were worth $10,070,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of MA. Brighton Jones LLC grew its position in Mastercard by 42.3% in the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 6,824 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $3,594,000 after acquiring an additional 2,028 shares in the last quarter. Bank Pictet & Cie Europe AG grew its position in Mastercard by 11.8% in the fourth quarter. Bank Pictet & Cie Europe AG now owns 70,472 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $37,108,000 after acquiring an additional 7,452 shares in the last quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC grew its position in Mastercard by 51.6% in the fourth quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC now owns 2,954 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $1,555,000 after acquiring an additional 1,006 shares in the last quarter. Edgestream Partners L.P. acquired a new stake in Mastercard in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $1,540,000. Finally, Taika Capital LP acquired a new stake in Mastercard in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $384,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 97.28% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Mastercard

In related news, insider Craig Vosburg sold 14,051 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, June 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $585.05, for a total transaction of $8,220,537.55. Following the transaction, the insider owned 58,451 shares in the company, valued at $34,196,757.55. This trade represents a 19.38% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, 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 transaction of $601,447.00. Following the transaction, the insider owned 12,921 shares in the company, valued at $7,064,815.17. This represents a 7.85% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 38,441 shares of company stock valued at $20,173,035. 0.09% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Mastercard Stock Performance

MA opened at $565.41 on Tuesday. The business's 50 day moving average is $567.45 and its 200-day moving average is $547.10. The stock has a market cap of $515.49 billion, a PE ratio of 39.65, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.47 and a beta of 1.02. The company has a current ratio of 1.11, a quick ratio of 1.11 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.81. Mastercard Incorporated has a twelve month low of $428.86 and a twelve month high of $594.71.

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

Mastercard Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 8th. Investors of record on Wednesday, July 9th will be paid a dividend of $0.76 per share. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, July 9th. This represents a $3.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.54%. Mastercard's dividend payout ratio is presently 21.32%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

MA has been the subject of several recent research reports. Evercore ISI started coverage on shares of Mastercard in a research report on Wednesday, April 9th. They issued an "in-line" rating and a $550.00 price objective for the company. 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. KeyCorp upped their target price on shares of Mastercard from $630.00 to $635.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, May 2nd. Monness Crespi & Hardt downgraded Mastercard from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 9th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group reiterated a "buy" rating on shares of Mastercard in a research note on Friday, June 6th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-four have assigned a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $611.50.

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.

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