Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) Shares Sold by Menora Mivtachim Holdings LTD.

Menora Mivtachim Holdings LTD. lessened its stake in shares of Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) by 0.0% in the first quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 689,960 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after selling 300 shares during the quarter. Mastercard comprises about 2.5% of Menora Mivtachim Holdings LTD.’s holdings, making the stock its 9th biggest position. Menora Mivtachim Holdings LTD.’s holdings in Mastercard were worth $378,181,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Measured Risk Portfolios Inc. acquired a new position in Mastercard during the fourth quarter worth $31,000. Navigoe LLC bought a new stake in Mastercard during the fourth quarter valued at about $33,000. 10Elms LLP bought a new stake in Mastercard during the fourth quarter valued at about $33,000. Hughes Financial Services LLC bought a new stake in Mastercard during the first quarter valued at about $34,000. Finally, Mpwm Advisory Solutions LLC bought a new stake in shares of Mastercard in the fourth quarter valued at about $36,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 97.28% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Craig Vosburg sold 14,051 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, June 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $585.05, for a total value of $8,220,537.55. Following the transaction, the insider owned 58,451 shares in the company, valued at approximately $34,196,757.55. This represents a 19.38% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider Linda Pistecchia Kirkpatrick sold 959 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, June 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $572.86, for a total transaction of $549,372.74. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 25,540 shares in the company, valued at approximately $14,630,844.40. This trade represents a 3.62% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 38,453 shares of company stock valued at $20,178,667 over the last quarter. 0.09% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Macquarie reduced their target price on shares of Mastercard from $645.00 to $610.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, May 2nd. Royal Bank Of Canada raised their price target on shares of Mastercard from $650.00 to $656.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, August 1st. Jefferies Financial Group restated a “buy” rating on shares of Mastercard in a research note on Friday, June 6th. Citigroup raised their price objective on shares of Mastercard from $650.00 to $652.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, May 5th. Finally, KeyCorp raised their price objective on shares of Mastercard from $635.00 to $660.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, August 1st. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-five have issued a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $617.93.

Mastercard Trading Down 0.3%

MA opened at $582.06 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 1.16, a quick ratio of 1.16 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.41. Mastercard Incorporated has a 12 month low of $461.90 and a 12 month high of $594.71. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $563.30 and its 200 day simple moving average is $554.64. The stock has a market capitalization of $526.19 billion, a P/E ratio of 39.25, a P/E/G ratio of 2.39 and a beta of 1.03.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 31st. The credit services provider reported $4.15 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $4.05 by $0.10. Mastercard had a net margin of 44.93% and a return on equity of 200.01%. The firm had revenue of $8.13 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.95 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $3.50 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 16.8% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Mastercard Incorporated will post 15.91 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Mastercard Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 8th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, July 9th were paid a dividend of $0.76 per share. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, July 9th. This represents a $3.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.5%. Mastercard’s payout ratio is currently 20.50%.

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.