Stevens Capital Management LP Sells 9,016 Shares of Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA)

Stevens Capital Management LP reduced its stake in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) by 69.8% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 3,896 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after selling 9,016 shares during the quarter. Stevens Capital Management LP’s holdings in Mastercard were worth $1,924,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in MA. Highline Wealth Partners LLC bought a new stake in Mastercard during the 3rd quarter worth about $25,000. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL bought a new stake in Mastercard during the 2nd quarter worth about $34,000. First Personal Financial Services bought a new stake in Mastercard during the 3rd quarter worth about $39,000. Fairway Wealth LLC bought a new stake in Mastercard during the 2nd quarter worth about $35,000. Finally, Lowe Wealth Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Mastercard by 74.0% in the 3rd 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 period. 97.28% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on MA. Oppenheimer began coverage on shares of Mastercard in a report on Tuesday, October 1st. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $591.00 target price on the stock. BNP Paribas cut shares of Mastercard from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $470.00 target price on the stock. in a report on Tuesday, September 3rd. Susquehanna upped their target price on shares of Mastercard from $540.00 to $605.00 and gave the company a “positive” rating in a report on Friday, November 1st. Piper Sandler reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and issued a $575.00 target price (up from $565.00) on shares of Mastercard in a report on Friday, November 15th. Finally, Robert W. Baird upped their target price on shares of Mastercard from $545.00 to $575.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 16th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-two have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $549.16.

Insider Activity at Mastercard

In related news, CMO Venkata R. Madabhushi sold 4,685 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 completion of the transaction, the chief marketing officer now owns 15,031 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,363,085.66. This represents a 23.76 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. 0.10% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Mastercard Stock Performance

NYSE MA opened at $521.12 on Thursday. The company has a current ratio of 1.29, a quick ratio of 1.29 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.36. The firm has a market capitalization of $478.30 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 39.42, a P/E/G ratio of 2.34 and a beta of 1.10. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $512.46 and its 200 day simple moving average is $477.71. Mastercard Incorporated has a 1 year low of $404.32 and a 1 year high of $535.77.

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

Mastercard Announces Dividend

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

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.