Green Square Capital LLC Decreases Position in Mastercard Incorporated (MA)

Green Square Capital LLC decreased its stake in shares of Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) by 5.0% during the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 13,534 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after selling 709 shares during the period. Green Square Capital LLC’s holdings in Mastercard were worth $1,522,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Glassman Wealth Services raised its position in shares of Mastercard by 0.3% in the first quarter. Glassman Wealth Services now owns 1,769 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $199,000 after buying an additional 6 shares in the last quarter. Genesee Valley Trust Co. increased its stake in shares of Mastercard by 0.3% in the first quarter. Genesee Valley Trust Co. now owns 6,246 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $702,000 after buying an additional 18 shares during the last quarter. Concert Wealth Management Inc. increased its stake in shares of Mastercard by 0.3% in the first quarter. Concert Wealth Management Inc. now owns 6,467 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $664,000 after buying an additional 18 shares during the last quarter. Welch Group LLC increased its stake in shares of Mastercard by 1.2% in the first quarter. Welch Group LLC now owns 1,625 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $183,000 after buying an additional 20 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Intellectus Partners LLC increased its stake in shares of Mastercard by 1.0% in the first quarter. Intellectus Partners LLC now owns 2,378 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $267,000 after buying an additional 24 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 75.99% of the company’s stock.

Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) traded up 1.16% during midday trading on Monday, hitting $130.04. The company had a trading volume of 443,755 shares. Mastercard Incorporated has a 12 month low of $94.41 and a 12 month high of $132.20. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $126.59 and a 200-day moving average price of $117.50. The company has a market cap of $138.48 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.27 and a beta of 1.17.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, July 27th. The credit services provider reported $1.10 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.04 by $0.06. The firm had revenue of $3.05 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.98 billion. Mastercard had a return on equity of 74.92% and a net margin of 38.30%. The business’s revenue was up 13.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.96 EPS. Equities analysts anticipate that Mastercard Incorporated will post $4.40 EPS for the current year.

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, August 9th. Investors of record on Friday, July 7th were given a $0.22 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, July 5th. This represents a $0.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.68%. Mastercard’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 21.78%.

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on MA. Zacks Investment Research raised Mastercard from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 3rd. Royal Bank Of Canada reaffirmed a “top pick” rating and set a $130.00 price objective on shares of Mastercard in a research report on Friday, June 16th. BMO Capital Markets raised their price objective on Mastercard from $123.00 to $126.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 3rd. Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on Mastercard from $124.00 to $131.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 30th. Finally, Mizuho began coverage on Mastercard in a research report on Tuesday, June 27th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $125.00 price objective on the stock. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating, twenty have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. The stock has an average rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $128.20.

In related news, major shareholder Foundation Mastercard sold 87,618 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $126.60, for a total value of $11,092,438.80. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 112,736,681 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $14,272,463,814.60. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CFO Martina Hundmejean sold 91,107 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $129.79, for a total value of $11,824,777.53. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 170,570 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $22,138,280.30. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders sold 850,468 shares of company stock valued at $109,574,694. Insiders own 0.30% of the company’s stock.

About Mastercard

MasterCard Incorporated is a technology company that connects consumers, financial institutions, merchants, governments and businesses across the world, enabling them to use electronic forms of payment. The Company operates through Payment Solutions segment. The Company allows user to make payments by creating a range of payment solutions and services using its brands, which include MasterCard, Maestro and Cirrus.