Valeo Financial Advisors LLC Decreases Stock Holdings in Mastercard Incorporated $MA

Key Points

• Valeo Financial Advisors LLC reduced its stake in Mastercard Incorporated by 2.7%, owning 22,874 shares worth approximately $12.85 million at the end of the last quarter.
• Despite this reduction, other hedge funds are actively increasing their positions in Mastercard, with ORG Partners LLC raising its stake by 73.2% during the same period.
• Mastercard recently announced a quarterly dividend of $0.76, with a dividend yield of 0.5%, set to be paid on November 7th.

Valeo Financial Advisors LLC lessened its position in shares of Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA - Free Report) by 2.7% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 22,874 shares of the credit services provider's stock after selling 630 shares during the quarter. Valeo Financial Advisors LLC's holdings in Mastercard were worth $12,854,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. ORG Partners LLC lifted its stake in shares of Mastercard by 73.2% during the 2nd quarter. ORG Partners LLC now owns 698 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $394,000 after purchasing an additional 295 shares during the period. Ethos Financial Group LLC grew its holdings in Mastercard by 19.5% in the first quarter. Ethos Financial Group LLC now owns 3,174 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $1,683,000 after purchasing an additional 518 shares during the period. Fortis Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Mastercard by 9.4% in the 1st 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 grew its position in Mastercard by 36.4% in 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 in the last quarter. Finally, SeaBridge Investment Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Mastercard by 4.3% during the second quarter. SeaBridge Investment Advisors LLC now owns 6,463 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $3,632,000 after buying an additional 264 shares in the last quarter. 97.28% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

MA has been the subject of several recent research reports. TD Cowen reiterated a "buy" rating and set a $645.00 target price on shares of Mastercard in a research note on Monday, August 11th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on Mastercard from $625.00 to $650.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, August 1st. Seaport Res Ptn raised Mastercard from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Monday, July 14th. Morgan Stanley increased their target price on shares of Mastercard from $639.00 to $661.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, August 1st. Finally, Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Mastercard from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, September 26th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-five have given a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and a consensus price target of $630.89.

Insider Activity at Mastercard

In related news, CFO J. Mehra Sachin sold 17,816 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $586.89, for a total transaction of $10,456,032.24. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer owned 31,234 shares in the company, valued at $18,330,922.26. This represents a 36.32% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Insiders own 0.09% of the company's stock.

Mastercard Price Performance

Shares of MA opened at $581.08 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.41, a quick ratio of 1.16 and a current ratio of 1.16. The firm has a market cap of $525.30 billion, a PE ratio of 39.18, a PEG ratio of 2.38 and a beta of 0.97. Mastercard Incorporated has a twelve month low of $465.59 and a twelve month high of $601.77. The firm's 50 day moving average price is $580.26 and its 200 day moving average price is $562.03.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, July 31st. The credit services provider reported $4.15 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $4.05 by $0.10. The company had revenue of $8.13 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates 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% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company earned $3.50 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts expect that Mastercard Incorporated will post 15.91 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Mastercard Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 7th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, October 9th will be given a $0.76 dividend. This represents a $3.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.5%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, October 9th. Mastercard's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 20.50%.

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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