Dearborn Partners LLC Reduces Stock Holdings in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA)

Dearborn Partners LLC lowered its position in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) by 14.5% in the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 72,024 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after selling 12,258 shares during the quarter. Mastercard comprises about 1.9% of Dearborn Partners LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 11th biggest holding. Dearborn Partners LLC’s holdings in Mastercard were worth $39,478,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of MA. Accredited Investors Inc. lifted its position in shares of Mastercard by 2.6% during the first quarter. Accredited Investors Inc. now owns 718 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $394,000 after purchasing an additional 18 shares in the last quarter. Wealthstream Advisors Inc. lifted its position in shares of Mastercard by 2.9% during the first quarter. Wealthstream Advisors Inc. now owns 632 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $347,000 after purchasing an additional 18 shares in the last quarter. Phillips Wealth Planners LLC lifted its position in shares of Mastercard by 1.8% during the first quarter. Phillips Wealth Planners LLC now owns 1,055 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $538,000 after purchasing an additional 19 shares in the last quarter. Alta Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Mastercard by 3.6% during the first quarter. Alta Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 540 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $296,000 after purchasing an additional 19 shares in the last quarter. Finally, May Hill Capital LLC lifted its position in shares of Mastercard by 2.0% during the first quarter. May Hill Capital LLC now owns 986 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $540,000 after purchasing an additional 19 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 97.28% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Mastercard

In other Mastercard 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 of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,064,815.17. This trade represents a 7.85% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Julius Genachowski sold 312 shares of Mastercard stock in a transaction that occurred on 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. The trade was a 3.55% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 38,753 shares of company stock valued at $20,351,084 over the last 90 days. Company insiders own 0.09% of the company’s stock.

Mastercard Price Performance

Shares of NYSE MA opened at $563.54 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.81, a current ratio of 1.11 and a quick ratio of 1.11. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $564.93 and a 200 day moving average price of $550.91. Mastercard Incorporated has a 1-year low of $439.59 and a 1-year high of $594.71. The company has a market cap of $513.78 billion, a PE ratio of 39.52, a P/E/G ratio of 2.46 and a beta of 1.02.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA) last issued its quarterly earnings results 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 return on equity of 196.87% and a net margin of 45.21%. The firm had revenue of $7.25 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.12 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $3.31 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 14.2% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts forecast that Mastercard Incorporated will post 15.91 EPS for the current year.

Mastercard Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 8th. Shareholders 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 currently 21.32%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts recently weighed in on MA shares. Macquarie cut their target price on shares of Mastercard from $645.00 to $610.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, May 2nd. Royal Bank Of Canada restated an “outperform” rating and set a $650.00 target price on shares of Mastercard in a research note on Tuesday, July 15th. Citigroup upped their target price on shares of Mastercard from $650.00 to $652.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, May 5th. Truist Financial cut their target price on shares of Mastercard from $640.00 to $612.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, July 17th. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Mastercard from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, July 18th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-five have assigned a buy rating and three have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Mastercard presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $612.90.

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.