Ironvine Capital Partners LLC Lowers Stock Position in Mastercard Incorporated $MA

Ironvine Capital Partners LLC cut its stake in shares of Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) by 11.1% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 59,464 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after selling 7,456 shares during the period. Mastercard makes up 2.7% of Ironvine Capital Partners LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 15th biggest holding. Ironvine Capital Partners LLC’s holdings in Mastercard were worth $30,541,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. J. Stern & Co. LLP boosted its position in shares of Mastercard by 53,535.0% during the 4th quarter. J. Stern & Co. LLP now owns 72,597,097 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $41,444,231,000 after purchasing an additional 72,461,743 shares during the period. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in Mastercard in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $6,705,708,000. Cardano Risk Management B.V. raised its position in Mastercard by 861.6% in the fourth quarter. Cardano Risk Management B.V. now owns 4,072,210 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $2,324,743,000 after purchasing an additional 3,648,748 shares during the period. Fundsmith LLP purchased a new stake in Mastercard in the second quarter valued at approximately $639,458,000. Finally, Corient Private Wealth LP lifted its stake in Mastercard by 147.2% during the second quarter. Corient Private Wealth LP now owns 1,682,183 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $863,969,000 after purchasing an additional 1,001,671 shares in the last quarter. 97.28% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Mastercard

In other Mastercard news, insider Linda Pistecchia Kirkpatrick sold 4,280 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $570.31, for a total value of $2,440,926.80. Following the sale, the insider owned 31,179 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $17,781,695.49. This trade represents a 12.07% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, insider Sandra A. Arkell sold 200 shares of Mastercard stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $540.00, for a total value of $108,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 3,322 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,793,880. The trade was a 5.68% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders have sold 71,357 shares of company stock worth $40,637,262 over the last quarter. 0.09% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have recently commented on MA. Raymond James Financial restated an “outperform” rating and set a $632.00 price target on shares of Mastercard in a research report on Friday, July 31st. Clear Str upgraded Mastercard to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Thursday, July 16th. UBS Group increased their target price on Mastercard from $640.00 to $670.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, July 31st. Weiss Ratings upgraded Mastercard from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a report on Monday, August 17th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their target price on Mastercard from $665.00 to $685.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, July 31st. Five analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-five have given a Buy rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $666.64.

Mastercard Stock Performance

Shares of MA stock opened at $580.95 on Wednesday. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $553.09 and a two-hundred day moving average of $520.16. The stock has a market capitalization of $508.92 billion, a PE ratio of 31.96, a P/E/G ratio of 1.77 and a beta of 0.74. The company has a quick ratio of 1.06, a current ratio of 1.06 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.96. Mastercard Incorporated has a 52 week low of $464.52 and a 52 week high of $601.62.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 30th. The credit services provider reported $5.04 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.77 by $0.27. The business had revenue of $9.28 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $9.08 billion. Mastercard had a return on equity of 239.99% and a net margin of 46.34%.The company’s revenue was up 14.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $4.15 earnings per share. On average, research analysts predict that Mastercard Incorporated will post 19.86 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Mastercard Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 7th. Investors of record on Thursday, July 9th were paid a dividend of $0.87 per share. This represents a $3.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.6%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, July 9th. Mastercard’s payout ratio is presently 19.14%.

Mastercard Profile

Mastercard Incorporated is a global payments technology company that operates a network connecting consumers, financial institutions, merchants, governments and businesses in more than 200 countries and territories. The company facilitates electronic payments and transaction processing for credit, debit and prepaid card products carrying the Mastercard brand, while also providing a range of payment-related services to issuers, acquirers and merchants. Its technology and network enable authorization, clearing and settlement of payments and support a broad set of use cases including point-of-sale, e-commerce and mobile payments.

Beyond core transaction processing, Mastercard offers a suite of value-added services such as fraud and risk management, identity and authentication tools, tokenization and digital wallet support, cross-border and commercial payment solutions, and data analytics and consulting services for merchants and financial partners.