Houlihan Financial Resource Group Ltd. Has $4.10 Million Stock Holdings in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA)

Houlihan Financial Resource Group Ltd. cut its stake in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) by 3.0% during the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 7,476 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after selling 230 shares during the quarter. Mastercard makes up 1.8% of Houlihan Financial Resource Group Ltd.’s portfolio, making the stock its 19th biggest holding. Houlihan Financial Resource Group Ltd.’s holdings in Mastercard were worth $4,098,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Measured Risk Portfolios Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Mastercard in the fourth quarter worth $31,000. 10Elms LLP acquired a new position in shares of Mastercard in the fourth quarter worth $33,000. Hughes Financial Services LLC acquired a new position in Mastercard during the first quarter worth $34,000. Navigoe LLC acquired a new position in Mastercard during the fourth quarter worth $33,000. Finally, Mpwm Advisory Solutions LLC acquired a new position in Mastercard during the fourth quarter worth $36,000. 97.28% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling at Mastercard

In other news, insider Linda Pistecchia Kirkpatrick sold 958 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated 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 directly owned 23,624 shares in the company, valued at $13,229,440. The trade was a 3.90% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, insider Raj Seshadri sold 1,100 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, June 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $546.77, for a total transaction of $601,447.00. Following the transaction, the insider owned 12,921 shares in the company, valued at $7,064,815.17. This represents a 7.85% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 38,453 shares of company stock valued at $20,178,667. Corporate insiders own 0.09% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have commented on MA. Macquarie lowered their target price on shares of Mastercard from $645.00 to $610.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, May 2nd. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft initiated coverage on shares of Mastercard in a research report on Thursday, July 17th. They set a “buy” rating and a $650.00 target price on the stock. UBS Group raised their price target on Mastercard from $660.00 to $670.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, June 3rd. The Goldman Sachs Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Mastercard in a research report on Friday, August 1st. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada raised their price target on Mastercard from $650.00 to $656.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, August 1st. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-five have issued a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $615.33.

Mastercard Price Performance

MA opened at $574.42 on Monday. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $563.90 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $553.56. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.41, a quick ratio of 1.16 and a current ratio of 1.16. Mastercard Incorporated has a 52 week low of $453.46 and a 52 week high of $594.71. The firm has a market capitalization of $519.28 billion, a PE ratio of 38.73, a P/E/G ratio of 2.36 and a beta of 1.03.

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

Mastercard Dividend Announcement

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