Ithaka Group LLC Trims Stake in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA)

Ithaka Group LLC decreased its position in shares of Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) by 4.6% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 67,291 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after selling 3,229 shares during the quarter. Mastercard comprises approximately 5.5% of Ithaka Group LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 5th largest position. Ithaka Group LLC’s holdings in Mastercard were worth $29,686,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Intech Investment Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Mastercard by 15.6% during the 4th quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC now owns 24,452 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $10,429,000 after purchasing an additional 3,306 shares in the last quarter. Brevan Howard Capital Management LP lifted its stake in Mastercard by 213.2% in the fourth quarter. Brevan Howard Capital Management LP now owns 8,456 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $3,607,000 after buying an additional 5,756 shares during the period. Banque Cantonale Vaudoise boosted its holdings in shares of Mastercard by 6.9% during the 1st quarter. Banque Cantonale Vaudoise now owns 41,250 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $19,865,000 after buying an additional 2,676 shares in the last quarter. NEOS Investment Management LLC grew its position in shares of Mastercard by 42.0% during the 4th quarter. NEOS Investment Management LLC now owns 11,724 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $5,000,000 after buying an additional 3,469 shares during the period. Finally, Morningstar Investment Services LLC increased its stake in shares of Mastercard by 96.8% in the 4th quarter. Morningstar Investment Services LLC now owns 593,789 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $253,144,000 after acquiring an additional 292,064 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 97.28% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Mastercard

In other Mastercard news, CFO J. Mehra Sachin sold 13,439 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, August 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $455.00, for a total value of $6,114,745.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 27,304 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $12,423,320. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other news, insider Craig Vosburg sold 9,028 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, June 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $451.06, for a total transaction of $4,072,169.68. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 58,940 shares in the company, valued at approximately $26,585,476.40. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CFO J. Mehra Sachin sold 13,439 shares of Mastercard stock in a transaction on Monday, August 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $455.00, for a total transaction of $6,114,745.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 27,304 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $12,423,320. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 720,467 shares of company stock valued at $331,875,955. Corporate insiders own 0.10% of the company’s stock.

Mastercard Trading Up 0.3 %

NYSE:MA opened at $493.36 on Monday. Mastercard Incorporated has a 1 year low of $359.77 and a 1 year high of $496.85. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $460.67 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $460.18. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.95, a current ratio of 1.14 and a quick ratio of 1.14. The company has a market cap of $458.63 billion, a P/E ratio of 39.22, a P/E/G ratio of 1.92 and a beta of 1.10.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 31st. The credit services provider reported $3.59 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.51 by $0.08. The business had revenue of $6.96 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.85 billion. Mastercard had a return on equity of 179.78% and a net margin of 46.45%. As a group, analysts expect that Mastercard Incorporated will post 14.29 EPS for the current year.

Mastercard Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 9th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, July 9th were given a $0.66 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, July 9th. This represents a $2.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.54%. Mastercard’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 20.99%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have commented on the stock. Bank of America cut shares of Mastercard from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and reduced their price target for the stock from $505.00 to $480.00 in a report on Wednesday, July 10th. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their target price on Mastercard from $500.00 to $526.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 1st. Argus upgraded Mastercard to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Thursday, August 1st. William Blair raised Mastercard to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 31st. Finally, Evercore ISI cut their target price on Mastercard from $540.00 to $525.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, June 25th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-one have assigned a buy rating and three have given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $510.88.

About Mastercard

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.