ZWJ Investment Counsel Inc. Reduces Holdings in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA)

by · The Cerbat Gem

ZWJ Investment Counsel Inc. cut its stake in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA – Free Report) by 29.2% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 836 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after selling 344 shares during the period. ZWJ Investment Counsel Inc.’s holdings in Mastercard were worth $458,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Clark Asset Management LLC grew its position in Mastercard by 2.9% during the 1st quarter. Clark Asset Management LLC now owns 5,028 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $2,756,000 after purchasing an additional 141 shares during the last quarter. Smart Money Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Mastercard in the first quarter valued at about $826,000. Resonant Capital Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Mastercard by 6.4% during the first quarter. Resonant Capital Advisors LLC now owns 6,329 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $3,469,000 after buying an additional 378 shares during the last quarter. Capital Investment Counsel Inc grew its stake in shares of Mastercard by 25.4% in the 1st quarter. Capital Investment Counsel Inc now owns 494 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $271,000 after purchasing an additional 100 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Latitude Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Mastercard by 20.3% in the first quarter. Latitude Advisors LLC now owns 1,609 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $882,000 after purchasing an additional 271 shares during the period. 97.28% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages recently weighed in on MA. Macquarie decreased their price target on Mastercard from $645.00 to $610.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Friday, May 2nd. Wolfe Research set a $655.00 target price on shares of Mastercard in a research note on Monday, June 23rd. Tigress Financial reaffirmed a “strong-buy” rating on shares of Mastercard in a report on Monday, March 10th. KeyCorp raised their price target on Mastercard from $630.00 to $635.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, May 2nd. Finally, Wall Street Zen cut shares of Mastercard from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, June 14th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-four have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $611.50.

View Our Latest Stock Analysis on MA

Mastercard Price Performance

MA stock opened at $561.75 on Thursday. The stock has a market capitalization of $512.15 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 39.39, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.45 and a beta of 1.02. The company has a quick ratio of 1.11, a current ratio of 1.11 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.81. Mastercard Incorporated has a 52-week low of $428.86 and a 52-week high of $594.71. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $565.55 and its 200-day simple moving average is $546.00.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA – Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 1st. The credit services provider reported $3.73 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.57 by $0.16. The firm had revenue of $7.25 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.12 billion. Mastercard had a return on equity of 196.87% and a net margin of 45.21%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 14.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company earned $3.31 EPS. Equities research analysts expect that Mastercard Incorporated will post 15.91 EPS for the current year.

Mastercard Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 8th. Investors of record on Wednesday, July 9th will be given a $0.76 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, July 9th. This represents a $3.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.54%. Mastercard’s dividend payout ratio is presently 21.32%.

Insider Transactions at Mastercard

In other Mastercard news, insider Linda Pistecchia Kirkpatrick sold 958 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $560.00, for a total transaction of $536,480.00. Following the transaction, the insider owned 23,624 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $13,229,440. This trade represents a 3.90% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Julius Genachowski sold 310 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, June 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $561.00, for a total transaction of $173,910.00. Following the sale, the director directly owned 8,323 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,669,203. This represents a 3.59% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 38,441 shares of company stock valued at $20,173,035 in the last quarter. Insiders own 0.09% of the company’s stock.

Mastercard Company Profile

(Free Report)

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.

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