Benjamin Edwards Inc. Lowers Holdings in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA)

Benjamin Edwards Inc. trimmed its position in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) by 0.9% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 5,710 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after selling 54 shares during the quarter. Benjamin Edwards Inc.’s holdings in Mastercard were worth $2,519,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Mastercard by 0.4% during the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 75,584,606 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $36,399,279,000 after purchasing an additional 330,872 shares during the last quarter. Capital International Investors lifted its stake in shares of Mastercard by 3.3% during the 4th quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 21,041,685 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $8,974,478,000 after purchasing an additional 676,452 shares during the last quarter. Capital Research Global Investors lifted its stake in shares of Mastercard by 0.3% during the 1st quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 13,651,904 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $6,574,347,000 after purchasing an additional 43,881 shares during the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Mastercard by 0.9% during the 2nd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 4,250,760 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $1,875,266,000 after purchasing an additional 38,380 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Canada Pension Plan Investment Board lifted its stake in shares of Mastercard by 7.1% during the 1st quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board now owns 4,213,930 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $2,029,302,000 after purchasing an additional 279,178 shares during the last quarter. 97.28% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Mastercard

In other Mastercard news, CMO Venkata R. Madabhushi sold 4,685 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, September 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $493.10, for a total value of $2,310,173.50. Following the sale, the chief marketing officer now directly owns 17,118 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,440,885.80. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other news, major shareholder Foundation Mastercard sold 138,000 shares of Mastercard stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, June 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $453.19, for a total value of $62,540,220.00. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 92,152,308 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $41,762,504,462.52. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CMO Venkata R. Madabhushi sold 4,685 shares of Mastercard stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, September 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $493.10, for a total value of $2,310,173.50. Following the completion of the sale, the chief marketing officer now directly owns 17,118 shares in the company, valued at $8,440,885.80. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 605,124 shares of company stock valued at $280,045,189. Company insiders own 0.10% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have commented on MA shares. Piper Sandler increased their price target on Mastercard from $531.00 to $536.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, August 2nd. TD Cowen increased their price target on Mastercard from $532.00 to $533.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 1st. Susquehanna increased their price target on Mastercard from $535.00 to $540.00 and gave the company a “positive” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 1st. BMO Capital Markets reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $520.00 price target on shares of Mastercard in a research note on Wednesday, August 14th. Finally, William Blair upgraded Mastercard to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 31st. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-one have given a buy rating and three have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Mastercard has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $512.08.

Mastercard Stock Down 0.4 %

Shares of MA opened at $493.01 on Friday. 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 Incorporated has a 12 month low of $359.77 and a 12 month high of $501.80. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $465.19 and its two-hundred day moving average is $460.98. The firm has a market cap of $458.31 billion, a P/E ratio of 39.19, a PEG ratio of 1.92 and a beta of 1.10.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 31st. The credit services provider reported $3.59 EPS for the quarter, beating 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 company had revenue of $6.96 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.85 billion. Analysts predict that Mastercard Incorporated will post 14.29 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Mastercard Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 8th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, October 9th will be issued a $0.66 dividend. This represents a $2.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.54%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, October 9th. Mastercard’s payout ratio is currently 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.