FCG Investment Co Cuts Stake in Mastercard Incorporated $MA

FCG Investment Co lowered its position in shares of Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) by 17.3% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 3,636 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after selling 763 shares during the quarter. Mastercard accounts for 1.1% of FCG Investment Co’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 22nd largest holding. FCG Investment Co’s holdings in Mastercard were worth $2,043,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also made changes to their positions in MA. Family Legacy Financial Solutions LLC acquired a new stake in Mastercard in the 2nd quarter valued at about $26,000. Flaharty Asset Management LLC acquired a new stake in Mastercard in the 1st quarter valued at about $27,000. Keystone Global Partners LLC acquired a new stake in Mastercard in the 1st quarter valued at about $31,000. Hughes Financial Services LLC acquired a new stake in Mastercard in the 1st quarter valued at about $34,000. Finally, 1 North Wealth Services LLC acquired a new stake in Mastercard in the 1st quarter valued at about $44,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 97.28% of the company’s stock.

Mastercard Price Performance

MA opened at $567.36 on Friday. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $578.74 and its 200 day simple moving average is $559.77. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.41, a quick ratio of 1.16 and a current ratio of 1.16. Mastercard Incorporated has a 1 year low of $465.59 and a 1 year high of $601.77. The stock has a market capitalization of $512.90 billion, a PE ratio of 38.26, a P/E/G ratio of 2.33 and a beta of 0.99.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA) last released its 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. Mastercard had a net margin of 44.93% and a return on equity of 200.01%. The business had revenue of $8.13 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $7.95 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $3.50 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 16.8% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Mastercard Incorporated will post 15.91 EPS for the current year.

Mastercard Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 7th. Investors of record on Thursday, October 9th will be issued a $0.76 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, October 9th. This represents a $3.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.5%. Mastercard’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 20.50%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on the stock. UBS Group increased their price objective on shares of Mastercard from $660.00 to $670.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 3rd. KeyCorp raised their price target on shares of Mastercard from $635.00 to $660.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, August 1st. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on shares of Mastercard from $625.00 to $650.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, August 1st. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Mastercard from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, July 18th. Finally, Wolfe Research set a $655.00 price target on shares of Mastercard in a research note on Monday, June 23rd. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-four have issued a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Mastercard presently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $630.89.

Insider Activity at Mastercard

In other news, 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 in the company, valued at $4,833,004.23. This trade represents a 3.55% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CFO J. Mehra Sachin sold 17,816 shares of Mastercard stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $586.89, for a total transaction of $10,456,032.24. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer owned 31,234 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $18,330,922.26. This trade represents a 36.32% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 36,349 shares of company stock worth $21,372,994. Company insiders own 0.09% of the company’s stock.

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.