Sawgrass Asset Management LLC Trims Holdings in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA)

Sawgrass Asset Management LLC lessened its holdings in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) by 4.1% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 31,042 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after selling 1,312 shares during the quarter. Mastercard comprises approximately 1.6% of Sawgrass Asset Management LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 18th largest holding. Sawgrass Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Mastercard were worth $15,329,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Sarasin & Partners LLP increased its stake in shares of Mastercard by 4.7% in the 3rd quarter. Sarasin & Partners LLP now owns 831,942 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $410,813,000 after purchasing an additional 37,486 shares in the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its holdings in Mastercard by 4.8% in the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 3,031,915 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $1,497,160,000 after purchasing an additional 138,842 shares during the period. Coppell Advisory Solutions Corp. acquired a new stake in Mastercard in the first quarter valued at approximately $608,000. SteelPeak Wealth LLC increased its position in shares of Mastercard by 48.6% in the second quarter. SteelPeak Wealth LLC now owns 4,928 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $2,174,000 after buying an additional 1,612 shares in the last quarter. Finally, OMC Financial Services LTD acquired a new position in shares of Mastercard during the 1st quarter worth approximately $17,854,000. 97.28% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Mastercard

In other Mastercard news, major shareholder Foundation Mastercard sold 90,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $468.80, for a total transaction of $42,192,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 91,649,308 shares in the company, valued at $42,965,195,590.40. This trade represents a 0.10 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, CMO Venkata R. Madabhushi sold 4,685 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, September 13th. The shares were 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 owns 17,118 shares in the company, valued at $8,440,885.80. This trade represents a 21.49 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 208,370 shares of company stock worth $97,749,218 over the last ninety days. Company insiders own 0.10% of the company’s stock.

Mastercard Stock Performance

Shares of MA opened at $521.89 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $479.01 billion, a PE ratio of 39.48, a PEG ratio of 2.28 and a beta of 1.10. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.36, a quick ratio of 1.29 and a current ratio of 1.29. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $504.09 and its 200 day moving average price is $471.18. Mastercard Incorporated has a 52 week low of $395.55 and a 52 week high of $534.03.

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

Mastercard Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 8th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, October 9th were given a dividend of $0.66 per share. 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 19.97%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

MA has been the topic of a number of research reports. Piper Sandler reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and issued a $575.00 price target (up from $565.00) on shares of Mastercard in a research note on Friday. Citigroup lifted their price target on Mastercard from $566.00 to $572.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, November 4th. Robert W. Baird upped their price objective on shares of Mastercard from $545.00 to $575.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 16th. Mizuho raised their target price on shares of Mastercard from $496.00 to $532.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Finally, KeyCorp upped their price target on Mastercard from $515.00 to $580.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, November 1st. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-one have assigned a buy rating and three have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $549.16.

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.