Capital Market Strategies LLC Decreases Holdings in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA)

Capital Market Strategies LLC lessened its stake in shares of Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) by 2.7% in the third quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 968 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after selling 27 shares during the quarter. Capital Market Strategies LLC’s holdings in Mastercard were worth $478,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in MA. VitalStone Financial LLC increased its stake in shares of Mastercard by 300.0% in the fourth quarter. VitalStone Financial LLC now owns 60 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 45 shares in the last quarter. Westend Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Mastercard in the first quarter worth about $27,000. Palisade Asset Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Mastercard in the first quarter worth about $27,000. Scarborough Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Mastercard in the fourth quarter worth about $28,000. Finally, Beaird Harris Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Mastercard in the fourth quarter worth about $30,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 97.28% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have recently weighed in on MA. Susquehanna lifted their target price on shares of Mastercard from $535.00 to $540.00 and gave the stock a “positive” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 1st. Oppenheimer initiated coverage on shares of Mastercard in a research note on Tuesday. They set an “outperform” rating and a $591.00 price objective for the company. William Blair raised shares of Mastercard to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 31st. Evercore ISI reduced their price objective 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. Finally, BMO Capital Markets reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $520.00 price objective on shares of Mastercard in a research note on Wednesday, August 14th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty have issued a buy rating and three have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Mastercard currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $517.22.

Insider Buying and Selling at Mastercard

In other Mastercard news, CFO J. Mehra Sachin sold 13,439 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on 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 transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 27,304 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $12,423,320. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other news, CMO Venkata R. Madabhushi sold 4,685 shares of the company’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 sale, the chief marketing officer now directly owns 15,031 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,363,085.66. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CFO J. Mehra Sachin sold 13,439 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 5th. The stock was 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 340,809 shares of company stock valued at $159,610,703. 0.10% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Mastercard Stock Down 0.1 %

Shares of NYSE MA opened at $494.94 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.14, a current ratio of 1.14 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.95. Mastercard Incorporated has a 52 week low of $359.77 and a 52 week high of $501.80. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $475.36 and its 200 day moving average is $462.47. The company has a market cap of $460.10 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 39.34, a PEG 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 the consensus estimate 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. On average, equities research analysts expect that Mastercard Incorporated will post 14.29 earnings per share for the current year.

Mastercard Announces Dividend

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

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.