Vicus Capital Sells 612 Shares of Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA)

Vicus Capital reduced its holdings in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) by 43.0% in the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 812 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after selling 612 shares during the quarter. Vicus Capital’s holdings in Mastercard were worth $401,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors also recently modified their holdings of MA. Palisade Asset Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Mastercard during the first quarter worth about $27,000. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL acquired a new position in Mastercard during the second quarter valued at approximately $34,000. Fairway Wealth LLC acquired a new position in Mastercard during the second quarter valued at approximately $35,000. Lowe Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its position in Mastercard by 74.0% during the third quarter. Lowe Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 87 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $43,000 after purchasing an additional 37 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Valued Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its position in Mastercard by 168.6% during the first quarter. Valued Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 94 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $45,000 after purchasing an additional 59 shares during the last quarter. 97.28% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts recently commented on MA shares. Susquehanna increased their price target on Mastercard from $535.00 to $540.00 and gave the company a “positive” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 1st. KeyCorp increased their price target on Mastercard from $490.00 to $515.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 1st. Barclays increased their price target on Mastercard from $536.00 to $576.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 10th. Argus upgraded Mastercard to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 1st. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada lifted their target price on Mastercard from $500.00 to $526.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 1st. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eighteen have assigned a buy rating and three have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $525.68.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CMO Venkata R. Madabhushi sold 4,685 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, September 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $489.86, for a total transaction of $2,294,994.10. Following the transaction, the chief marketing officer now directly owns 15,031 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,363,085.66. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In related news, major shareholder Foundation Mastercard sold 119,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 transaction, the insider now directly owns 92,033,308 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $43,113,923,465.68. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CMO Venkata R. Madabhushi sold 4,685 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the sale, the chief marketing officer now directly owns 15,031 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,363,085.66. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 340,809 shares of company stock valued at $159,610,703. 0.10% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Mastercard Trading Down 0.4 %

Shares of MA opened at $513.02 on Wednesday. The firm has a market cap of $476.91 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 40.78, a PEG ratio of 2.22 and a beta of 1.10. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.95, a quick ratio of 1.14 and a current ratio of 1.14. The business’s fifty day moving average is $489.16 and its 200-day moving average is $464.58. Mastercard Incorporated has a 52-week low of $359.77 and a 52-week high of $518.82.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 31st. The credit services provider reported $3.59 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.51 by $0.08. The company had revenue of $6.96 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.85 billion. Mastercard had a return on equity of 179.78% and a net margin of 46.45%. Equities analysts anticipate that Mastercard Incorporated will post 14.3 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Mastercard Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 8th. Investors of record on Wednesday, October 9th will be paid a dividend of $0.66 per share. This represents a $2.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.51%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, October 9th. Mastercard’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 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.