Kovack Advisors Inc. Sells 157 Shares of Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA)

Kovack Advisors Inc. decreased its stake in shares of Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) by 8.0% during the first quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 1,811 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after selling 157 shares during the quarter. Kovack Advisors Inc.’s holdings in Mastercard were worth $872,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of MA. Evergreen Capital Management LLC grew its stake in Mastercard by 1.7% in the third quarter. Evergreen Capital Management LLC now owns 8,319 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $3,294,000 after purchasing an additional 143 shares during the period. Jackson Wealth Management LLC grew its position in shares of Mastercard by 1.7% in the 3rd quarter. Jackson Wealth Management LLC now owns 28,352 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $11,225,000 after buying an additional 487 shares during the period. Scotia Capital Inc. grew its position in shares of Mastercard by 1.8% in the 3rd quarter. Scotia Capital Inc. now owns 133,633 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $52,909,000 after buying an additional 2,328 shares during the period. Sandler Capital Management increased its stake in shares of Mastercard by 22.2% in the 3rd quarter. Sandler Capital Management now owns 16,748 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $6,631,000 after acquiring an additional 3,045 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Rokos Capital Management LLP purchased a new position in Mastercard during the 3rd quarter valued at about $19,272,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 97.28% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Mastercard

In other news, insider Sandra A. Arkell sold 300 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $447.23, for a total value of $134,169.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 4,063 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,817,095.49. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In other Mastercard news, insider Raj Seshadri sold 5,216 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $446.71, for a total transaction of $2,330,039.36. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 15,183 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,782,397.93. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider Sandra A. Arkell sold 300 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $447.23, for a total value of $134,169.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 4,063 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,817,095.49. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 3,163,228 shares of company stock worth $1,428,540,870 in the last three months. 0.10% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have weighed in on MA. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price objective on shares of Mastercard from $520.00 to $510.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, May 2nd. Barclays reduced their price objective on Mastercard from $549.00 to $530.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, May 6th. Robert W. Baird lifted their price objective on Mastercard from $525.00 to $545.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 18th. Piper Sandler assumed coverage on Mastercard in a research note on Monday, May 13th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $531.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Evercore ISI lowered their price target on Mastercard from $540.00 to $525.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, June 25th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-three have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $496.91.

Mastercard Stock Up 0.8 %

Shares of Mastercard stock opened at $448.18 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.09, a current ratio of 1.09 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.86. Mastercard Incorporated has a twelve month low of $359.77 and a twelve month high of $490.00. The company has a market cap of $416.63 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 35.63, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.75 and a beta of 1.09. The company’s 50 day moving average is $450.47 and its 200 day moving average is $453.59.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 1st. The credit services provider reported $3.31 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.22 by $0.09. Mastercard had a return on equity of 183.70% and a net margin of 46.09%. The firm had revenue of $6.35 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.34 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $2.80 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 10.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts anticipate that Mastercard Incorporated will post 14.26 EPS for the current year.

Mastercard Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 9th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, July 9th will be given a $0.66 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, July 9th. This represents a $2.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.59%. Mastercard’s payout ratio is 20.99%.

About Mastercard

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.