Tranquilli Financial Advisor LLC Cuts Holdings in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA)

Tranquilli Financial Advisor LLC lessened its stake in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) by 6.7% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 603 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after selling 43 shares during the period. Tranquilli Financial Advisor LLC’s holdings in Mastercard were worth $331,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Financial Engines Advisors L.L.C. boosted its stake in shares of Mastercard by 4.6% in the 1st quarter. Financial Engines Advisors L.L.C. now owns 2,018 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $1,106,000 after purchasing an additional 89 shares in the last quarter. Ballast Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Mastercard by 34.3% in the 1st quarter. Ballast Inc. now owns 897 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $492,000 after purchasing an additional 229 shares in the last quarter. Meridian Wealth Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Mastercard by 0.6% in the 1st quarter. Meridian Wealth Management LLC now owns 12,507 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $6,855,000 after purchasing an additional 71 shares in the last quarter. Independent Advisor Alliance boosted its stake in shares of Mastercard by 6.0% in the 1st quarter. Independent Advisor Alliance now owns 28,817 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $15,795,000 after purchasing an additional 1,630 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Staley Capital Advisers Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Mastercard by 3.8% in the 1st quarter. Staley Capital Advisers Inc. now owns 5,942 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $3,257,000 after purchasing an additional 219 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 97.28% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on MA shares. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Mastercard from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, July 18th. Wolfe Research set a $655.00 price objective on shares of Mastercard in a research note on Monday, June 23rd. Macquarie cut 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. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft started coverage on shares of Mastercard in a research note on Thursday, July 17th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $650.00 price objective for the company. Finally, UBS Group increased their price target on shares of Mastercard from $660.00 to $670.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, June 3rd. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-five have given a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $615.33.

Mastercard Stock Up 2.4%

Shares of Mastercard stock opened at $574.42 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.41, a current ratio of 1.16 and a quick ratio of 1.16. The company has a 50-day moving average of $563.90 and a 200 day moving average of $553.56. The firm has a market cap of $519.28 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 38.73, a PEG ratio of 2.36 and a beta of 1.03. Mastercard Incorporated has a 1 year low of $453.46 and a 1 year high of $594.71.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 31st. The credit services provider reported $4.15 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $4.05 by $0.10. The company had revenue of $8.13 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.95 billion. Mastercard had a net margin of 44.93% and a return on equity of 200.01%. Mastercard’s quarterly revenue was up 16.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business earned $3.50 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Mastercard Incorporated will post 15.91 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Mastercard Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 8th. Investors of record on Wednesday, July 9th were paid a $0.76 dividend. This represents a $3.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.5%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, July 9th. Mastercard’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 20.50%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Mastercard

In related news, insider Raj Seshadri sold 1,100 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, June 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $546.77, for a total value of $601,447.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 12,921 shares in the company, valued at $7,064,815.17. This trade represents a 7.85% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Julius Genachowski sold 312 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $570.67, for a total transaction of $178,049.04. Following the sale, the director owned 8,469 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,833,004.23. This represents a 3.55% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 38,453 shares of company stock valued at $20,178,667 in the last quarter. 0.09% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.