Ithaka Group LLC Decreases Stock Holdings in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA)

Ithaka Group LLC lowered its position in shares of Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA - Free Report) by 2.7% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 65,473 shares of the credit services provider's stock after selling 1,818 shares during the quarter. Mastercard comprises 6.1% of Ithaka Group LLC's portfolio, making the stock its 5th largest position. Ithaka Group LLC's holdings in Mastercard were worth $32,331,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd. grew its holdings in Mastercard by 46.4% in the 1st quarter. China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 14,785 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $7,120,000 after buying an additional 4,685 shares in the last quarter. Westwood Holdings Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of Mastercard by 56.1% during the first quarter. Westwood Holdings Group Inc. now owns 1,094 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $527,000 after purchasing an additional 393 shares in the last quarter. Stonebridge Capital Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Mastercard by 9.7% in the first quarter. Stonebridge Capital Advisors LLC now owns 941 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $453,000 after purchasing an additional 83 shares during the period. Gamco Investors INC. ET AL grew its position in Mastercard by 1.1% in the 1st quarter. Gamco Investors INC. ET AL now owns 25,709 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $12,381,000 after buying an additional 288 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Quadrature Capital Ltd bought a new stake in Mastercard during the first quarter worth approximately $391,000. Institutional investors own 97.28% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have recently weighed in on MA. KeyCorp raised their price objective on Mastercard from $515.00 to $580.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Royal Bank of Canada reissued an "outperform" rating and issued a $572.00 price target on shares of Mastercard in a research note on Thursday, November 14th. BNP Paribas lowered shares of Mastercard from an "outperform" rating to a "neutral" rating and set a $470.00 price objective for the company. in a research note on Tuesday, September 3rd. UBS Group raised their target price on shares of Mastercard from $590.00 to $610.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, November 14th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets boosted their price target on shares of Mastercard from $550.00 to $565.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Thursday, November 14th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-one have issued a buy rating and three have given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $549.16.

Insider Activity at Mastercard

In related news, CMO Venkata R. Madabhushi sold 4,685 shares of Mastercard stock in a transaction dated Friday, September 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $489.86, for a total transaction of $2,294,994.10. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief marketing officer now directly owns 15,031 shares of the company's stock, valued at $7,363,085.66. This trade represents a 23.76 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. 0.10% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Mastercard Stock Performance

Shares of MA traded up $5.76 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $520.86. The company's stock had a trading volume of 3,130,155 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,459,033. The stock's 50-day moving average is $506.36 and its two-hundred day moving average is $473.05. The firm has a market capitalization of $478.06 billion, a PE ratio of 38.96, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.31 and a beta of 1.10. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.36, a quick ratio of 1.29 and a current ratio of 1.29. Mastercard Incorporated has a one year low of $404.32 and a one year high of $534.03.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 31st. The credit services provider reported $3.89 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $3.73 by $0.16. Mastercard had a net margin of 45.26% and a return on equity of 178.27%. The business had revenue of $7.37 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.27 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $3.39 earnings per share. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 12.8% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Mastercard Incorporated will post 14.47 EPS for the current year.

Mastercard Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 8th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, October 9th were issued a dividend of $0.66 per share. This represents a $2.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.51%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, October 9th. Mastercard's payout ratio is 19.97%.

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.