WestEnd Advisors LLC Lowers Stock Position in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA)

WestEnd Advisors LLC cut its position in shares of Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA - Free Report) by 5.1% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 82,314 shares of the credit services provider's stock after selling 4,379 shares during the period. Mastercard accounts for 1.2% of WestEnd Advisors LLC's portfolio, making the stock its 19th largest holding. WestEnd Advisors LLC's holdings in Mastercard were worth $45,118,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Whalerock Point Partners LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Mastercard by 1.3% during the fourth quarter. Whalerock Point Partners LLC now owns 14,678 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $7,729,000 after acquiring an additional 185 shares during the period. Fortis Advisors LLC increased its position in Mastercard by 9.4% during the first quarter. Fortis Advisors LLC now owns 871 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $477,000 after acquiring an additional 75 shares during the period. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC raised its stake in Mastercard by 1.7% in the 4th quarter. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC now owns 71,862 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $37,841,000 after purchasing an additional 1,194 shares in the last quarter. Kingswood Wealth Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Mastercard by 18.0% during the 1st 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 in the last quarter. Finally, Baldwin Investment Management LLC grew its position in shares of Mastercard by 5.7% during the 4th 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 in the last quarter. 97.28% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Mastercard

In other Mastercard news, insider Craig Vosburg sold 9,428 shares of Mastercard stock in a transaction on Friday, June 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $353.05, for a total value of $3,328,555.40. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 58,451 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $20,636,125.55. The trade was a 13.89% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider Linda Pistecchia Kirkpatrick sold 958 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $560.00, for a total value of $536,480.00. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 23,624 shares in the company, valued at approximately $13,229,440. This trade represents a 3.90% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 38,441 shares of company stock worth $20,173,035. Corporate insiders own 0.09% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Tigress Financial reiterated a "strong-buy" rating on shares of Mastercard in a research report on Monday, March 10th. Citigroup lifted their price objective on Mastercard from $650.00 to $652.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, May 5th. Macquarie reduced their target price 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 reaffirmed a "buy" rating and issued a $633.00 price target on shares of Mastercard in a research note on Wednesday, April 2nd. Finally, Wall Street Zen cut shares of Mastercard from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Saturday, June 14th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-four have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $611.50.

Mastercard Trading Down 0.5%

MA traded down $2.86 during trading on Wednesday, reaching $561.75. 2,501,598 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,673,012. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $564.92 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $545.89. The stock has a market capitalization of $512.15 billion, a PE ratio of 39.39, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.45 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 company has a current ratio of 1.11, a quick ratio of 1.11 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.81.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 1st. The credit services provider reported $3.73 earnings per share for the quarter, topping 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 for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $7.12 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $3.31 earnings per share. Mastercard's revenue for the quarter was up 14.2% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Mastercard Incorporated will post 15.91 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Mastercard Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced 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 0.54%. Mastercard's payout ratio is 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.