Commonwealth Equity Services LLC Decreases Stake in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA)

Commonwealth Equity Services LLC lowered its position in shares of Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) by 4.9% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 276,937 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after selling 14,261 shares during the period. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC’s holdings in Mastercard were worth $136,752,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in MA. Westend Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in Mastercard during the first quarter worth about $27,000. Palisade Asset Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Mastercard in the first quarter valued at $27,000. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL acquired a new stake in shares of Mastercard during the 2nd quarter worth about $34,000. Fairway Wealth LLC purchased a new stake in Mastercard in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $35,000. Finally, Lowe Wealth Advisors LLC increased its stake 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 purchasing an additional 37 shares during the last quarter. 97.28% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Mastercard Trading Up 0.5 %

Shares of NYSE MA traded up $2.58 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $516.34. The stock had a trading volume of 2,604,684 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,442,889. The firm has a market cap of $480.00 billion, a P/E ratio of 41.05, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.22 and a beta of 1.10. Mastercard Incorporated has a fifty-two week low of $359.77 and a fifty-two week high of $518.00. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.95, a current ratio of 1.14 and a quick ratio of 1.14. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $486.90 and its 200 day simple moving average is $464.21.

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

Mastercard Announces Dividend

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 paid a $0.66 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, October 9th. This represents a $2.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.51%. Mastercard’s payout ratio is presently 20.99%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have weighed in on MA. Oppenheimer assumed coverage on shares of Mastercard in a research note on Tuesday, October 1st. They set an “outperform” rating and a $591.00 price target on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on shares of Mastercard from $500.00 to $570.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 20th. Piper Sandler boosted their price target on Mastercard from $531.00 to $536.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, August 2nd. Royal Bank of Canada raised their price target on shares of Mastercard from $500.00 to $526.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 1st. Finally, Barclays lifted their target price on Mastercard from $536.00 to $576.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 10th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eighteen have assigned a buy rating and three have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Mastercard presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $524.64.

Insider Buying and Selling at Mastercard

In other news, CFO J. Mehra Sachin sold 13,439 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, August 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $455.00, for a total value of $6,114,745.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 27,304 shares in the company, valued at $12,423,320. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. In related news, CFO J. Mehra Sachin sold 13,439 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $455.00, for a total value of $6,114,745.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 27,304 shares in the company, valued at $12,423,320. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, major shareholder Foundation Mastercard sold 119,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $468.46, for a total transaction of $55,746,740.00. Following the transaction, the insider now 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 340,809 shares of company stock worth $159,610,703. Insiders own 0.10% of the company’s stock.

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.