Verdence Capital Advisors LLC Sells 457 Shares of Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA)

Verdence Capital Advisors LLC cut its holdings in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA - Free Report) by 3.2% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 14,014 shares of the credit services provider's stock after selling 457 shares during the quarter. Verdence Capital Advisors LLC's holdings in Mastercard were worth $7,682,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Mayflower Financial Advisors LLC increased its position in Mastercard by 5.5% in the first quarter. Mayflower Financial Advisors LLC now owns 4,926 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $2,700,000 after purchasing an additional 256 shares during the period. Napatree Capital LLC acquired a new position in Mastercard in the first quarter valued at approximately $249,000. Allen Capital Group LLC lifted its holdings in Mastercard by 14.0% in the first quarter. Allen Capital Group LLC now owns 1,238 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $679,000 after buying an additional 152 shares during the period. Trust Investment Advisors lifted its holdings in Mastercard by 1.9% in the first quarter. Trust Investment Advisors now owns 3,054 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $1,674,000 after buying an additional 58 shares during the period. Finally, Altman Advisors Inc. lifted its holdings in Mastercard by 1.5% in the first quarter. Altman Advisors Inc. now owns 4,045 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $2,217,000 after buying an additional 58 shares during the period. 97.28% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Mastercard Trading Down 0.6%

Mastercard stock traded down $3.09 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $552.52. The stock had a trading volume of 2,579,579 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,663,399. 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 stock has a market cap of $503.74 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 38.75, a P/E/G ratio of 2.41 and a beta of 1.02. Mastercard Incorporated has a one year low of $428.86 and a one year high of $594.71. The business's 50 day simple moving average is $567.30 and its 200-day simple moving average is $548.44.

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

Mastercard Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 8th. Stockholders 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.55%. Mastercard's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 21.32%.

Insider Buying and Selling

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 stock was sold at an average price of $585.05, for a total transaction of $8,220,537.55. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 58,451 shares of the company's stock, 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 document filed with the SEC, which is available at 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 stock was sold at an average price of $546.77, for a total value of $601,447.00. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 12,921 shares of the company's stock, valued at $7,064,815.17. This represents a 7.85% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 38,753 shares of company stock valued at $20,351,084 over the last three months. 0.09% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

MA has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Macquarie cut their price objective on Mastercard from $645.00 to $610.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, May 2nd. The Goldman Sachs Group reiterated a "buy" rating and set a $633.00 price objective on shares of Mastercard in a report on Wednesday, April 2nd. Evercore ISI started coverage on Mastercard in a report on Wednesday, April 9th. They set an "in-line" rating and a $550.00 price objective on the stock. Seaport Res Ptn upgraded Mastercard from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Monday, July 14th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft started coverage on Mastercard in a research note on Thursday. They issued a "buy" rating and a $650.00 target price on the stock. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-five have given a buy rating and three have given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Mastercard has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $612.90.

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.