Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) Shares Sold by Audent Global Asset Management LLC

Audent Global Asset Management LLC lowered its stake in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) by 3.9% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,238 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after selling 50 shares during the period. Audent Global Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Mastercard were worth $679,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of MA. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of Mastercard by 0.5% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 77,179,138 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $40,640,219,000 after buying an additional 377,302 shares in the last quarter. FMR LLC grew its holdings in Mastercard by 4.3% during the fourth quarter. FMR LLC now owns 22,267,937 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $11,725,627,000 after acquiring an additional 912,856 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its position in Mastercard by 1.5% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 18,657,792 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $9,800,202,000 after acquiring an additional 282,739 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in Mastercard in the fourth quarter valued at $6,022,224,000. Finally, Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its position in shares of Mastercard by 9.1% during the 4th quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 9,760,740 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $5,139,713,000 after purchasing an additional 817,836 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 97.28% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Mastercard news, Director Julius Genachowski sold 310 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $561.00, for a total transaction of $173,910.00. Following the sale, the director directly owned 8,323 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,669,203. The trade was a 3.59% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider Linda Pistecchia Kirkpatrick sold 958 shares of the business’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 sale, the insider directly owned 23,624 shares in the company, valued at approximately $13,229,440. The trade was a 3.90% 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. Corporate insiders own 0.09% of the company’s stock.

Mastercard Trading Down 0.5%

NYSE:MA opened at $561.75 on Thursday. The stock has a market cap of $512.15 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 39.39, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.45 and a beta of 1.02. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.81, a quick ratio of 1.11 and a current ratio of 1.11. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $565.55 and its 200 day simple moving average is $546.00. Mastercard Incorporated has a one year low of $428.86 and a one year high of $594.71.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, May 1st. The credit services provider reported $3.73 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates 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 period in the prior year, the company earned $3.31 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 14.2% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Mastercard Incorporated will post 15.91 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Mastercard Announces Dividend

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. This represents a $3.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.54%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, July 9th. Mastercard’s dividend payout ratio is currently 21.32%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages recently commented on MA. Macquarie reduced their price objective on shares of Mastercard from $645.00 to $610.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, May 2nd. Tigress Financial reissued a “strong-buy” rating on shares of Mastercard in a research note on Monday, March 10th. The Goldman Sachs Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $633.00 price objective on shares of Mastercard in a research note on Wednesday, April 2nd. Wall Street Zen lowered Mastercard from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, June 14th. Finally, Wolfe Research set a $655.00 price target on Mastercard in a research note on Monday, June 23rd. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-four have assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $611.50.

Mastercard 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.