Leuthold Group LLC Cuts Stake in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA)

Leuthold Group LLC decreased its position in shares of Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) by 0.9% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 18,240 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after selling 164 shares during the period. Leuthold Group LLC’s holdings in Mastercard were worth $8,047,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Mastercard by 0.4% during the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 75,584,606 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $36,399,279,000 after acquiring an additional 330,872 shares during the last quarter. Capital International Investors raised its stake in Mastercard by 3.3% in the fourth quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 21,041,685 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $8,974,478,000 after buying an additional 676,452 shares during the last quarter. Capital Research Global Investors boosted its stake in Mastercard by 0.3% in the 1st quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 13,651,904 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $6,574,347,000 after purchasing an additional 43,881 shares in the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Mastercard by 0.9% during the second quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 4,250,760 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $1,875,266,000 after buying an additional 38,380 shares during the period. Finally, Canada Pension Plan Investment Board grew its holdings in shares of Mastercard by 7.1% during the first quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board now owns 4,213,930 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $2,029,302,000 after buying an additional 279,178 shares during the last quarter. 97.28% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Mastercard Stock Performance

Mastercard stock opened at $494.76 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.95, a quick ratio of 1.14 and a current ratio of 1.14. Mastercard Incorporated has a one year low of $359.77 and a one year high of $501.80. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $464.06 and its 200 day moving average price is $460.76. The firm has a market capitalization of $459.94 billion, a PE ratio of 39.33, a price-to-earnings-growth 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 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.51 by $0.08. The firm had revenue of $6.96 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.85 billion. Mastercard had a net margin of 46.45% and a return on equity of 179.78%. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Mastercard Incorporated will post 14.29 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Mastercard Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 8th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, October 9th will be given a dividend of $0.66 per share. This represents a $2.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.53%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, October 9th. Mastercard’s payout ratio is currently 20.99%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Mastercard news, major shareholder Foundation Mastercard sold 138,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, June 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $453.19, for a total transaction of $62,540,220.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 92,152,308 shares in the company, valued at approximately $41,762,504,462.52. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. In other news, CMO Venkata R. Madabhushi sold 4,685 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, September 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $493.10, for a total transaction of $2,310,173.50. Following the sale, the chief marketing officer now directly owns 17,118 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,440,885.80. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, major shareholder Foundation Mastercard sold 138,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, June 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $453.19, for a total value of $62,540,220.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 92,152,308 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $41,762,504,462.52. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 605,124 shares of company stock worth $280,045,189. Insiders own 0.10% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have commented on the company. KeyCorp lifted their price target on Mastercard from $490.00 to $515.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 1st. BNP Paribas downgraded Mastercard from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $470.00 target price for the company. in a report on Tuesday, September 3rd. William Blair upgraded shares of Mastercard to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 31st. Argus upgraded shares of Mastercard to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 1st. Finally, Susquehanna upped their price objective on shares of Mastercard from $535.00 to $540.00 and gave the company a “positive” rating in a report on Thursday, August 1st. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-one have given a buy rating and three have issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $512.08.

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.