Cambiar Investors LLC Sells 2,100 Shares of Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA)

Cambiar Investors LLC cut its holdings in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) by 2.9% during the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 71,181 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after selling 2,100 shares during the period. Mastercard accounts for approximately 1.7% of Cambiar Investors LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 24th biggest holding. Cambiar Investors LLC’s holdings in Mastercard were worth $39,016,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the business. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in Mastercard by 0.5% during the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 77,544,675 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $42,503,787,000 after acquiring an additional 365,537 shares during the period. Northern Trust Corp increased its stake in Mastercard by 15.2% during the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 9,149,181 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $4,817,684,000 after acquiring an additional 1,207,787 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its stake in Mastercard by 65,631.5% during the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 8,225,637 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $4,508,636,000 after acquiring an additional 8,213,123 shares during the period. Nuveen LLC bought a new position in Mastercard during the first quarter valued at about $4,238,764,000. Finally, Nuveen Asset Management LLC increased its stake in Mastercard by 1.0% during the fourth quarter. Nuveen Asset Management LLC now owns 7,610,333 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $4,007,373,000 after acquiring an additional 71,874 shares during the period. 97.28% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Mastercard Stock Down 0.3%

Shares of MA opened at $582.06 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $526.19 billion, a P/E ratio of 39.25, a PEG ratio of 2.39 and a beta of 1.03. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.41, a current ratio of 1.16 and a quick ratio of 1.16. Mastercard Incorporated has a one year low of $461.90 and a one year high of $594.71. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $563.30 and its 200-day simple moving average is $554.68.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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. Mastercard had a return on equity of 200.01% and a net margin of 44.93%. The firm had revenue of $8.13 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.95 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $3.50 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 16.8% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Mastercard Incorporated will post 15.91 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Mastercard Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 8th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, July 9th were issued a dividend of $0.76 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, July 9th. This represents a $3.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.5%. Mastercard’s dividend payout ratio is currently 20.50%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have weighed in on MA. The Goldman Sachs Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Mastercard in a report on Friday, August 1st. KeyCorp lifted their price objective on Mastercard from $635.00 to $660.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, August 1st. UBS Group lifted their price objective on Mastercard from $660.00 to $670.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, June 3rd. Citigroup lifted their price objective on Mastercard from $650.00 to $652.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, May 5th. Finally, Seaport Res Ptn raised Mastercard from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday, July 14th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-five have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $617.93.

Insider Transactions at Mastercard

In other Mastercard news, insider Linda Pistecchia Kirkpatrick sold 959 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, June 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $572.86, for a total transaction of $549,372.74. Following the transaction, the insider owned 25,540 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $14,630,844.40. This represents a 3.62% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Julius Genachowski sold 312 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, July 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $570.67, for a total value of $178,049.04. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 8,469 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,833,004.23. This represents a 3.55% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 38,453 shares of company stock worth $20,178,667 in the last quarter. 0.09% of the stock is owned by corporate 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.