Martingale Asset Management L P Sells 9,342 Shares of Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA)

Martingale Asset Management L P cut its holdings in shares of Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) by 10.4% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 80,099 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after selling 9,342 shares during the quarter. Mastercard accounts for 0.9% of Martingale Asset Management L P’s holdings, making the stock its 21st largest position. Martingale Asset Management L P’s holdings in Mastercard were worth $39,553,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in MA. Highline Wealth Partners LLC acquired a new stake in Mastercard in the third quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL bought a new position in shares of Mastercard during the second quarter valued at $34,000. Fairway Wealth LLC bought a new position in Mastercard during the second quarter worth $35,000. First Personal Financial Services bought a new position in Mastercard during the third quarter worth $39,000. Finally, Lowe Wealth Advisors LLC raised its stake in Mastercard by 74.0% during the third quarter. Lowe Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 87 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $43,000 after buying an additional 37 shares during the last quarter. 97.28% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

MA has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Compass Point initiated coverage on shares of Mastercard in a research note on Wednesday, September 4th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $525.00 price target for the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price objective on shares of Mastercard from $593.00 to $580.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, November 1st. Argus upgraded shares of Mastercard to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Thursday, August 1st. Royal Bank of Canada restated an “outperform” rating and set a $572.00 price target on shares of Mastercard in a report on Thursday, November 14th. Finally, Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on shares of Mastercard from $544.00 to $564.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 14th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-two have assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Mastercard currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $549.16.

Mastercard Stock Up 0.7 %

Shares of NYSE MA opened at $532.38 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 1.29, a quick ratio of 1.29 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.36. Mastercard Incorporated has a 12 month low of $404.32 and a 12 month high of $534.03. The firm has a market capitalization of $488.63 billion, a PE ratio of 40.27, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.37 and a beta of 1.10. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $509.57 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $475.63.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA) last issued 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 company had revenue of $7.37 billion during 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%. Mastercard’s quarterly revenue was up 12.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business earned $3.39 EPS. Equities analysts expect that Mastercard Incorporated will post 14.47 earnings per share for the current year.

Mastercard Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 8th. Investors of record on Wednesday, October 9th were issued 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 of this dividend was Wednesday, October 9th. Mastercard’s payout ratio is 19.97%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Mastercard

In other news, CMO Venkata R. Madabhushi sold 4,685 shares of Mastercard stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, September 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $493.10, for a total transaction 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. This trade represents a 21.49 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Insiders own 0.10% of the company’s stock.

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.