American Trust Trims Stock Holdings in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA)

American Trust lessened its position in shares of Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) by 1.8% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 9,805 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after selling 178 shares during the quarter. American Trust’s holdings in Mastercard were worth $4,326,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position in Mastercard by 0.4% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 75,584,606 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $36,399,279,000 after buying an additional 330,872 shares during the last quarter. Capital Research Global Investors boosted its holdings in shares of Mastercard by 0.3% in the 1st quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 13,651,904 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $6,574,347,000 after acquiring an additional 43,881 shares during the last quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. increased its stake in shares of Mastercard by 1.4% in the second quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 5,082,729 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $2,241,297,000 after acquiring an additional 71,569 shares during the period. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board raised its holdings in shares of Mastercard by 2.7% during the second quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board now owns 4,327,168 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $1,908,973,000 after purchasing an additional 113,238 shares during the last quarter. Finally, American Century Companies Inc. lifted its position in Mastercard by 0.9% during the second quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 4,250,760 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $1,875,266,000 after purchasing an additional 38,380 shares during the period. 97.28% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have weighed in on MA. KeyCorp increased their price target on Mastercard from $490.00 to $515.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 1st. Citigroup boosted their price target on Mastercard from $528.00 to $538.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, August 1st. Barclays upped their price objective on Mastercard from $530.00 to $536.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, August 5th. Oppenheimer started coverage on shares of Mastercard in a research note on Tuesday. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $591.00 target price for the company. Finally, Piper Sandler raised their price target on shares of Mastercard from $531.00 to $536.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, August 2nd. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty have issued a buy rating and three have given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $517.22.

Insider Transactions at Mastercard

In other Mastercard news, CMO Venkata R. Madabhushi sold 4,685 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, September 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $489.86, for a total value of $2,294,994.10. Following the transaction, the chief marketing officer now directly owns 15,031 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,363,085.66. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other Mastercard news, CMO Venkata R. Madabhushi sold 4,685 shares of Mastercard stock in a transaction on Friday, September 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $489.86, for a total value of $2,294,994.10. Following the sale, the chief marketing officer now owns 15,031 shares in the company, valued at $7,363,085.66. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CFO J. Mehra Sachin sold 13,439 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, August 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $455.00, for a total value of $6,114,745.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 27,304 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $12,423,320. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 340,809 shares of company stock worth $159,610,703 in the last quarter. Company insiders own 0.10% of the company’s stock.

Mastercard Stock Performance

NYSE:MA opened at $496.19 on Wednesday. The company has a market cap of $461.27 billion, a P/E ratio of 39.44, a P/E/G ratio of 1.96 and a beta of 1.10. Mastercard Incorporated has a twelve month low of $359.77 and a twelve month high of $501.80. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $472.79 and its 200-day moving average price is $462.01. The company has a current ratio of 1.14, a quick ratio of 1.14 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.95.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, July 31st. The credit services provider reported $3.59 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.51 by $0.08. Mastercard had a return on equity of 179.78% and a net margin of 46.45%. The business had revenue of $6.96 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.85 billion. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Mastercard Incorporated will post 14.29 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Mastercard Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 8th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, October 9th will be paid a $0.66 dividend. This represents a $2.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.53%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, October 9th. Mastercard’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 20.99%.

Mastercard Company 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.