Centaurus Financial Inc. Sells 1,669 Shares of Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA)

Centaurus Financial Inc. reduced its position in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) by 6.9% during the second quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 22,382 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after selling 1,669 shares during the period. Centaurus Financial Inc.’s holdings in Mastercard were worth $9,874,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Brevan Howard Capital Management LP boosted its stake in Mastercard by 213.2% in the 4th quarter. Brevan Howard Capital Management LP now owns 8,456 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $3,607,000 after purchasing an additional 5,756 shares in the last quarter. Banque Cantonale Vaudoise increased its holdings in shares of Mastercard by 6.9% in the first quarter. Banque Cantonale Vaudoise now owns 41,250 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $19,865,000 after purchasing an additional 2,676 shares during the period. Morningstar Investment Services LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Mastercard by 96.8% during the fourth quarter. Morningstar Investment Services LLC now owns 593,789 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $253,144,000 after purchasing an additional 292,064 shares during the period. First Trust Direct Indexing L.P. increased its holdings in Mastercard by 14.2% in the 1st quarter. First Trust Direct Indexing L.P. now owns 20,552 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $9,897,000 after buying an additional 2,556 shares during the period. Finally, Coppell Advisory Solutions Corp. acquired a new stake in Mastercard during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $608,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 97.28% of the company’s stock.

Mastercard Stock Down 0.1 %

Shares of MA opened at $495.67 on Thursday. Mastercard Incorporated has a 52-week low of $359.77 and a 52-week high of $501.80. The company has a quick ratio of 1.14, a current ratio of 1.14 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.95. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $474.05 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $462.24. The company has a market capitalization of $460.78 billion, a PE ratio of 39.40, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.96 and a beta of 1.10.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, July 31st. The credit services provider reported $3.59 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.51 by $0.08. Mastercard had a net margin of 46.45% and a return on equity of 179.78%. The company had revenue of $6.96 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.85 billion. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Mastercard Incorporated will post 14.29 EPS for the current year.

Mastercard Announces Dividend

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

Insider Activity

In other Mastercard news, CFO J. Mehra Sachin sold 13,439 shares of Mastercard stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $455.00, for a total transaction of $6,114,745.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 27,304 shares in the company, valued at $12,423,320. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. In related news, major shareholder Foundation Mastercard sold 119,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $468.46, for a total transaction of $55,746,740.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 92,033,308 shares in the company, valued at approximately $43,113,923,465.68. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CFO J. Mehra Sachin sold 13,439 shares of Mastercard stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $455.00, for a total value of $6,114,745.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly 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 valued at $159,610,703 in the last quarter. Insiders own 0.10% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have commented on the stock. BNP Paribas lowered shares of Mastercard from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $470.00 price target on the stock. in a report on Tuesday, September 3rd. Piper Sandler raised their price objective on shares of Mastercard from $531.00 to $536.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, August 2nd. Evercore ISI decreased their target price on shares of Mastercard from $540.00 to $525.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, June 25th. Bank of America raised their price target on shares of Mastercard from $480.00 to $509.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 17th. Finally, Argus raised shares of Mastercard to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 1st. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty have given a buy rating and three have given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Mastercard currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $517.22.

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.