Denali Advisors LLC Cuts Stock Position in Mastercard Incorporated $MA

Denali Advisors LLC lessened its stake in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) by 1.1% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 12,552 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after selling 146 shares during the period. Mastercard accounts for approximately 0.7% of Denali Advisors LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 29th largest holding. Denali Advisors LLC’s holdings in Mastercard were worth $7,053,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in MA. Brighton Jones LLC grew its stake in Mastercard by 42.3% in the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 6,824 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $3,594,000 after purchasing an additional 2,028 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its stake in Mastercard by 19.9% in the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 15,007 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $8,226,000 after purchasing an additional 2,493 shares during the last quarter. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. grew its stake in Mastercard by 3.9% in the first quarter. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. now owns 410,047 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $224,755,000 after purchasing an additional 15,342 shares during the last quarter. AssuredPartners Investment Advisors LLC grew its stake in Mastercard by 2.2% in the first quarter. AssuredPartners Investment Advisors LLC now owns 2,028 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $1,111,000 after purchasing an additional 44 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Hofer & Associates. Inc grew its stake in Mastercard by 7.7% in the first quarter. Hofer & Associates. Inc now owns 655 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $359,000 after purchasing an additional 47 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 97.28% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have weighed in on MA. TD Cowen reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $645.00 price target on shares of Mastercard in a report on Monday, August 11th. KeyCorp raised their price target on Mastercard from $635.00 to $660.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, August 1st. Robert W. Baird raised their price target on Mastercard from $640.00 to $660.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, October 6th. Wells Fargo & Company set a $669.00 price target on Mastercard and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday. Finally, Seaport Res Ptn raised Mastercard from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday, July 14th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-five have given a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $634.74.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CFO J. Mehra Sachin sold 17,816 shares of Mastercard stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 31,234 shares in the company, valued at approximately $18,330,922.26. This trade represents a 36.32% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 0.09% of the company’s stock.

Mastercard Trading Up 1.0%

Mastercard stock opened at $572.14 on Wednesday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.16, a current ratio of 1.16 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.41. Mastercard Incorporated has a 52 week low of $465.59 and a 52 week high of $601.77. The company has a market capitalization of $517.22 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 38.58, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.32 and a beta of 0.97. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $580.03 and a 200 day moving average price of $564.09.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA) last released its earnings results on Thursday, July 31st. The credit services provider reported $4.15 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates 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 during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.95 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $3.50 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 16.8% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Mastercard Incorporated will post 15.91 EPS for the current year.

Mastercard Announces Dividend

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

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.