Vulcan Value Partners LLC Sells 14,199 Shares of Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA)

Vulcan Value Partners LLC decreased its holdings in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) by 2.0% during the 2nd quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 688,998 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after selling 14,199 shares during the quarter. Mastercard comprises approximately 4.6% of Vulcan Value Partners LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 8th largest position. Vulcan Value Partners LLC’s holdings in Mastercard were worth $303,894,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the business. Brevan Howard Capital Management LP boosted its position in Mastercard by 213.2% in the fourth quarter. Brevan Howard Capital Management LP now owns 8,456 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $3,607,000 after buying an additional 5,756 shares in the last quarter. Banque Cantonale Vaudoise boosted its holdings in shares of Mastercard by 6.9% during the 1st quarter. Banque Cantonale Vaudoise now owns 41,250 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $19,865,000 after acquiring an additional 2,676 shares in the last quarter. NEOS Investment Management LLC grew its position in Mastercard by 42.0% during the 4th quarter. NEOS Investment Management LLC now owns 11,724 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $5,000,000 after acquiring an additional 3,469 shares during the last quarter. Morningstar Investment Services LLC increased its holdings in Mastercard by 96.8% in the 4th quarter. Morningstar Investment Services LLC now owns 593,789 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $253,144,000 after purchasing an additional 292,064 shares in the last quarter. Finally, First Trust Direct Indexing L.P. raised its position in Mastercard by 14.2% in the first quarter. First Trust Direct Indexing L.P. now owns 20,552 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $9,897,000 after purchasing an additional 2,556 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 97.28% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

MA has been the topic of several research reports. Argus upgraded Mastercard to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Thursday, August 1st. Evercore ISI reduced their target price on shares of Mastercard from $540.00 to $525.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, June 25th. KeyCorp raised their price target on shares of Mastercard from $490.00 to $515.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 1st. BNP Paribas cut shares of Mastercard from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $470.00 price objective on the stock. in a research note on Tuesday, September 3rd. Finally, Barclays increased their price objective on Mastercard from $530.00 to $536.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, August 5th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty have issued a buy rating and three have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Mastercard presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $513.70.

Insider Transactions at Mastercard

In related news, CFO J. Mehra Sachin sold 13,439 shares of Mastercard stock in a transaction on Monday, August 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $455.00, for a total value of $6,114,745.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 27,304 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $12,423,320. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. In related news, CFO J. Mehra Sachin sold 13,439 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $455.00, for a total value of $6,114,745.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 27,304 shares in the company, valued at approximately $12,423,320. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, major shareholder Foundation Mastercard sold 119,000 shares of Mastercard stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $468.46, for a total value of $55,746,740.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 92,033,308 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $43,113,923,465.68. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 340,809 shares of company stock valued at $159,610,703 over the last ninety days. 0.10% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Mastercard Stock Up 0.4 %

Mastercard stock opened at $493.34 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.14, a current ratio of 1.14 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.95. The company has a market capitalization of $458.62 billion, a PE ratio of 39.22, a PEG ratio of 1.96 and a beta of 1.10. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $470.79 and its 200 day moving average is $461.94. Mastercard Incorporated has a 12-month low of $359.77 and a 12-month high of $501.80.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, July 31st. The credit services provider reported $3.59 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.51 by $0.08. Mastercard had a return on equity of 179.78% and a net margin of 46.45%. The company had revenue of $6.96 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.85 billion. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Mastercard Incorporated will post 14.29 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Mastercard Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 8th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, October 9th will be issued a dividend of $0.66 per share. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, October 9th. This represents a $2.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.54%. Mastercard’s dividend payout ratio is 20.99%.

Mastercard Company Profile

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.