RiverPark Advisors LLC Sells 179 Shares of Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA)

RiverPark Advisors LLC lowered its position in shares of Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) by 3.1% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 5,523 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after selling 179 shares during the quarter. Mastercard accounts for approximately 2.2% of RiverPark Advisors LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 13th biggest holding. RiverPark Advisors LLC’s holdings in Mastercard were worth $2,660,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Altshuler Shaham Ltd bought a new stake in shares of Mastercard in the 4th quarter worth approximately $26,000. VitalStone Financial LLC raised its holdings in shares of Mastercard by 300.0% in the 4th quarter. VitalStone Financial LLC now owns 60 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 45 shares during the period. LFA Lugano Financial Advisors SA bought a new stake in shares of Mastercard in the 4th quarter worth approximately $27,000. Westend Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in Mastercard during the 1st quarter valued at $27,000. Finally, Palisade Asset Management LLC bought a new stake in Mastercard during the 1st quarter valued at $27,000. Institutional investors own 97.28% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have issued reports on MA. Piper Sandler began coverage on shares of Mastercard in a report on Monday, May 13th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $531.00 target price on the stock. Robert W. Baird boosted 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. Evercore ISI lowered their target price on shares of Mastercard from $540.00 to $525.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, June 25th. Mizuho lowered their target price on shares of Mastercard from $480.00 to $478.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, May 2nd. Finally, Susquehanna reissued a “positive” rating and set a $535.00 target price on shares of Mastercard in a report on Wednesday, April 3rd. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-three have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $496.91.

Mastercard Price Performance

NYSE:MA traded down $1.50 during midday trading on Tuesday, hitting $444.74. The company had a trading volume of 1,608,390 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,455,163. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $449.59 and its 200-day moving average price is $454.47. The company has a quick ratio of 1.09, a current ratio of 1.09 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.86. Mastercard Incorporated has a 52-week low of $359.77 and a 52-week high of $490.00. The company has a market capitalization of $413.43 billion, a PE ratio of 35.35, a P/E/G ratio of 1.75 and a beta of 1.09.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 1st. The credit services provider reported $3.31 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 analyst estimates of $6.34 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $2.80 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 10.4% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts expect that Mastercard Incorporated will post 14.26 earnings per share for the current year.

Mastercard Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 9th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, July 9th will be given a dividend of $0.66 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, July 9th. This represents a $2.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.59%. Mastercard’s payout ratio is 20.99%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Mastercard

In other Mastercard news, insider Sandra A. Arkell sold 300 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $447.23, for a total transaction of $134,169.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 4,063 shares in the company, valued at $1,817,095.49. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. In other news, insider Sandra A. Arkell sold 300 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $447.23, for a total transaction of $134,169.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 4,063 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,817,095.49. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, 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 of the company’s stock, valued at $44,541,179,602.20. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 3,163,228 shares of company stock worth $1,428,540,870 over the last three months. Company insiders own 0.10% of the company’s stock.

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.