Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. Decreases Position in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA)

Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. lowered its stake in shares of Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) by 80.4% during the third quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 9,219 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after selling 37,882 shares during the period. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd.’s holdings in Mastercard were worth $4,552,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Highline Wealth Partners LLC purchased a new stake in Mastercard during the 3rd quarter worth about $25,000. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL acquired a new position in shares of Mastercard during the second quarter worth about $34,000. Fairway Wealth LLC acquired a new position in shares of Mastercard during the second quarter worth about $35,000. First Personal Financial Services purchased a new stake in shares of Mastercard during the third quarter worth approximately $39,000. Finally, Lowe Wealth Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Mastercard by 74.0% in the third quarter. Lowe Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 87 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $43,000 after acquiring an additional 37 shares in the last quarter. 97.28% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Mastercard Price Performance

Mastercard stock opened at $520.86 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.36, a current ratio of 1.29 and a quick ratio of 1.29. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $506.91 and a 200-day simple moving average of $473.69. Mastercard Incorporated has a 12 month low of $404.32 and a 12 month high of $534.03. The stock has a market capitalization of $478.06 billion, a PE ratio of 39.40, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.29 and a beta of 1.10.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 31st. The credit services provider reported $3.89 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.73 by $0.16. The company had revenue of $7.37 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.27 billion. Mastercard had a net margin of 45.26% and a return on equity of 178.27%. Mastercard’s quarterly revenue was up 12.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $3.39 EPS. Equities analysts predict that Mastercard Incorporated will post 14.47 earnings per share for the current year.

Mastercard Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 8th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, October 9th were issued a $0.66 dividend. This represents a $2.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.51%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, October 9th. Mastercard’s dividend payout ratio is presently 19.97%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Mastercard

In other Mastercard news, CMO Venkata R. Madabhushi sold 4,685 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, September 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $489.86, for a total transaction of $2,294,994.10. Following the sale, the chief marketing officer now directly owns 15,031 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,363,085.66. The trade was a 23.76 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. 0.10% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have commented on MA shares. Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on shares of Mastercard from $544.00 to $564.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 14th. KeyCorp increased their target price on Mastercard from $515.00 to $580.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, November 1st. BNP Paribas downgraded Mastercard from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $470.00 price target for the company. in a report on Tuesday, September 3rd. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $572.00 price objective on shares of Mastercard in a report on Thursday, November 14th. Finally, Bank of America raised their target price on Mastercard from $480.00 to $509.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 17th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-one have assigned a buy rating and three have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $549.16.

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.