CHURCHILL MANAGEMENT Corp Decreases Stock Holdings in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA)

CHURCHILL MANAGEMENT Corp trimmed its holdings in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) by 16.5% during the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 5,562 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after selling 1,096 shares during the quarter. CHURCHILL MANAGEMENT Corp’s holdings in Mastercard were worth $2,679,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Meyer Handelman Co. purchased a new stake in shares of Mastercard during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $270,000. BTC Capital Management Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Mastercard during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $12,324,000. Johnson & White Wealth Management LLC raised its position in shares of Mastercard by 1.9% during the 1st quarter. Johnson & White Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,908 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $919,000 after buying an additional 36 shares during the period. Triangle Securities Wealth Management raised its position in shares of Mastercard by 16.8% during the 1st quarter. Triangle Securities Wealth Management now owns 1,547 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $745,000 after buying an additional 222 shares during the period. Finally, Fragasso Group Inc. increased its holdings in Mastercard by 10.8% in the 1st quarter. Fragasso Group Inc. now owns 1,297 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $624,000 after purchasing an additional 126 shares during the last quarter. 97.28% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Mastercard Price Performance

Shares of MA opened at $454.85 on Friday. Mastercard Incorporated has a 1-year low of $359.77 and a 1-year high of $490.00. The stock has a market cap of $422.83 billion, a PE ratio of 36.16, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.77 and a beta of 1.09. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.86, a current ratio of 1.09 and a quick ratio of 1.09. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $452.30 and a 200 day moving average price of $451.87.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, May 1st. The credit services provider reported $3.31 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.22 by $0.09. Mastercard had a net margin of 46.09% and a return on equity of 183.70%. The business had revenue of $6.35 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.34 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $2.80 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 10.4% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Mastercard Incorporated will post 14.22 EPS for the current year.

Mastercard Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 9th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, July 9th will be paid a dividend of $0.66 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, July 9th. This represents a $2.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.58%. Mastercard’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 20.99%.

Insider Transactions at Mastercard

In other news, major shareholder Foundation Mastercard sold 111,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, April 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $457.15, for a total transaction of $50,743,650.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 97,432,308 shares in the company, valued at $44,541,179,602.20. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. In other Mastercard news, major shareholder Foundation Mastercard sold 111,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, April 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $457.15, for a total transaction of $50,743,650.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 97,432,308 shares in the company, valued at $44,541,179,602.20. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, insider Sandra A. Arkell sold 300 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $454.00, for a total transaction of $136,200.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 3,463 shares in the company, valued at $1,572,202. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 2,774,200 shares of company stock worth $1,251,670,450 over the last ninety days. 0.10% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms recently weighed in on MA. Robert W. Baird lifted their target price on shares of Mastercard from $525.00 to $545.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, April 18th. Morgan Stanley dropped their target price on shares of Mastercard from $536.00 to $524.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, May 2nd. TD Cowen began coverage on shares of Mastercard in a report on Thursday, April 11th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $545.00 target price for the company. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on shares of Mastercard from $490.00 to $530.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 6th. Finally, Susquehanna restated a “positive” rating and issued a $535.00 price target on shares of Mastercard in a research note on Wednesday, April 3rd. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-three have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $497.78.

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.