Bedel Financial Consulting Inc. Decreases Holdings in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA)

Bedel Financial Consulting Inc. cut its stake in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) by 3.7% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 910 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after selling 35 shares during the quarter. Bedel Financial Consulting Inc.’s holdings in Mastercard were worth $509,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of MA. Measured Risk Portfolios Inc. acquired a new position in Mastercard in the 4th quarter worth $31,000. Navigoe LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Mastercard during the fourth quarter worth about $33,000. 10Elms LLP acquired a new position in shares of Mastercard in the fourth quarter worth about $33,000. Hughes Financial Services LLC acquired a new position in shares of Mastercard in the first quarter worth about $34,000. Finally, Mpwm Advisory Solutions LLC acquired a new stake in Mastercard during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $36,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 97.28% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have recently commented on the company. Jefferies Financial Group reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Mastercard in a research note on Friday, June 6th. The Goldman Sachs Group reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $633.00 price objective on shares of Mastercard in a research note on Wednesday, April 2nd. KeyCorp boosted their target price on shares of Mastercard from $630.00 to $635.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report 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 target price on the stock. Finally, Citigroup lifted their price target on Mastercard from $650.00 to $652.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, May 5th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-five have assigned a buy rating and three have assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $612.90.

Mastercard Trading Up 0.8%

Shares of NYSE:MA opened at $568.18 on Friday. 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 company’s 50-day moving average price is $565.61 and its 200 day moving average price is $550.15. The company has a market cap of $518.02 billion, a PE ratio of 39.84, a P/E/G ratio of 2.46 and a beta of 1.02. Mastercard Incorporated has a fifty-two week low of $432.11 and a fifty-two week high of $594.71.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 1st. The credit services provider reported $3.73 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.57 by $0.16. Mastercard had a return on equity of 196.87% and a net margin of 45.21%. 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 company posted $3.31 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 14.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Mastercard Incorporated will post 15.91 earnings per share for the current 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 of this dividend is Wednesday, July 9th. Mastercard’s dividend payout ratio is currently 21.32%.

Insider Activity at Mastercard

In other Mastercard news, insider Raj Seshadri sold 1,100 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, June 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $546.77, for a total transaction of $601,447.00. Following the transaction, the insider owned 12,921 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,064,815.17. This trade represents a 7.85% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Julius Genachowski sold 312 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 7th. The stock was 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 in the company, valued at $4,833,004.23. This trade represents a 3.55% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders sold 38,753 shares of company stock worth $20,351,084. 0.09% of the stock is owned by company 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.