Entropy Technologies LP Decreases Stock Position in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA)

Entropy Technologies LP decreased its position in shares of Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) by 66.2% in the third quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 3,459 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after selling 6,776 shares during the quarter. Entropy Technologies LP’s holdings in Mastercard were worth $1,708,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in MA. Everhart Financial Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of Mastercard by 17.8% during the 3rd quarter. Everhart Financial Group Inc. now owns 4,377 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $2,161,000 after acquiring an additional 660 shares during the last quarter. Coalescence Partners Investment Management LP purchased a new stake in Mastercard during the third quarter valued at $13,616,000. Lynx Investment Advisory grew its stake in shares of Mastercard by 3.2% in the 3rd quarter. Lynx Investment Advisory now owns 5,970 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $2,948,000 after buying an additional 183 shares in the last quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Mastercard by 2.2% in the 3rd quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC now owns 5,463 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $2,698,000 after buying an additional 120 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Jaffetilchin Investment Partners LLC raised its position in shares of Mastercard by 35.5% during the 3rd quarter. Jaffetilchin Investment Partners LLC now owns 10,433 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $5,152,000 after buying an additional 2,731 shares in the last quarter. 97.28% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Mastercard news, major shareholder Foundation Mastercard sold 109,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $467.45, for a total value of $50,952,050.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 91,924,308 shares in the company, valued at $42,970,017,774.60. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In other Mastercard news, major shareholder Foundation Mastercard sold 109,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $467.45, for a total value of $50,952,050.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 91,924,308 shares in the company, valued at approximately $42,970,017,774.60. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CMO Venkata R. Madabhushi sold 4,685 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated 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 owns 17,118 shares in the company, valued at $8,440,885.80. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 327,370 shares of company stock worth $153,495,958 in the last 90 days. 0.10% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Mastercard Stock Performance

Shares of MA stock opened at $529.17 on Wednesday. The company’s 50 day moving average is $500.61 and its 200 day moving average is $469.41. The company has a quick ratio of 1.29, a current ratio of 1.29 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.36. The firm has a market cap of $485.69 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 40.03, a PEG ratio of 2.30 and a beta of 1.10. Mastercard Incorporated has a 52-week low of $393.02 and a 52-week high of $534.03.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The credit services provider reported $3.89 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.73 by $0.16. Mastercard had a return on equity of 178.27% and a net margin of 45.26%. The firm had revenue of $7.37 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.27 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $3.39 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 12.8% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Mastercard Incorporated will post 14.45 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Mastercard Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 8th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, October 9th were given a $0.66 dividend. This represents a $2.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.50%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, October 9th. Mastercard’s payout ratio is currently 19.97%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

MA has been the subject of several recent research reports. Barclays lifted their price target on Mastercard from $536.00 to $576.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 10th. Mizuho lifted their target price on Mastercard from $496.00 to $532.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, November 1st. Macquarie raised their price target on Mastercard from $505.00 to $565.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, November 1st. BNP Paribas lowered shares of Mastercard from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $470.00 price objective for the company. in a research note on Tuesday, September 3rd. Finally, Bank of America increased their target price on shares of Mastercard from $480.00 to $509.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 17th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty have assigned a buy rating and three have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Mastercard currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $540.17.

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.