Ithaka Group LLC Has $29.69 Million Stock Holdings in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA)

Ithaka Group LLC reduced its stake in shares of Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) by 4.6% in the second quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 67,291 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after selling 3,229 shares during the period. Mastercard makes up 5.5% of Ithaka Group LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 5th biggest position. Ithaka Group LLC’s holdings in Mastercard were worth $29,686,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. VitalStone Financial LLC raised its stake in shares of Mastercard by 300.0% during the fourth quarter. VitalStone Financial LLC now owns 60 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $26,000 after acquiring an additional 45 shares during the last quarter. Westend Capital Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Mastercard during the first quarter valued at about $27,000. Palisade Asset Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Mastercard during the first quarter valued at about $27,000. Scarborough Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Mastercard during the fourth quarter valued at about $28,000. Finally, Beaird Harris Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Mastercard during the fourth quarter valued at about $30,000. 97.28% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on MA shares. Bank of America cut shares of Mastercard from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and reduced their price target for the company from $505.00 to $480.00 in a research report on Wednesday, July 10th. Susquehanna boosted their price target on shares of Mastercard from $535.00 to $540.00 and gave the company a “positive” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 1st. BMO Capital Markets reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $520.00 price target on shares of Mastercard in a research report on Wednesday, August 14th. KeyCorp boosted their price target on shares of Mastercard from $490.00 to $515.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 1st. Finally, William Blair upgraded shares of Mastercard to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 31st. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-one have assigned a buy rating and three have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $510.88.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, major shareholder Foundation Mastercard sold 90,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $468.80, for a total value of $42,192,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 91,649,308 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $42,965,195,590.40. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. In related 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 transaction 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 $12,423,320. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, major shareholder Foundation Mastercard sold 90,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $468.80, for a total transaction of $42,192,000.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 91,649,308 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $42,965,195,590.40. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 720,467 shares of company stock worth $331,875,955. Company insiders own 0.10% of the company’s stock.

Mastercard Stock Up 0.3 %

Shares of Mastercard stock opened at $493.36 on Monday. The company has a market cap of $458.63 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 39.22, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.92 and a beta of 1.10. The company’s 50 day moving average is $460.67 and its 200 day moving average is $460.18. Mastercard Incorporated has a twelve month low of $359.77 and a twelve month high of $496.85. The company has a quick ratio of 1.14, a current ratio of 1.14 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.95.

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

Mastercard Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 9th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, July 9th were given a $0.66 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, July 9th. This represents a $2.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.54%. Mastercard’s payout ratio is presently 20.99%.

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.