GLOBALT Investments LLC GA Lowers Stock Position in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA)

GLOBALT Investments LLC GA lowered its position in shares of Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) by 3.5% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 13,855 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after selling 508 shares during the quarter. GLOBALT Investments LLC GA’s holdings in Mastercard were worth $6,842,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in MA. China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd. lifted its position in Mastercard by 46.4% during the first quarter. China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 14,785 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $7,120,000 after buying an additional 4,685 shares during the period. Hilltop Partners LLC raised its position in shares of Mastercard by 4.9% in the 1st quarter. Hilltop Partners LLC now owns 2,965 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $1,428,000 after purchasing an additional 139 shares during the last quarter. Capitolis Liquid Global Markets LLC raised its position in shares of Mastercard by 144.6% in the 1st quarter. Capitolis Liquid Global Markets LLC now owns 352,200 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $169,609,000 after purchasing an additional 208,200 shares during the last quarter. Thornburg Investment Management Inc. raised its position in shares of Mastercard by 1.2% in the 1st quarter. Thornburg Investment Management Inc. now owns 111,197 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $53,544,000 after purchasing an additional 1,273 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Lake Street Advisors Group LLC raised its position in shares of Mastercard by 70.6% in the 1st quarter. Lake Street Advisors Group LLC now owns 10,858 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $5,229,000 after purchasing an additional 4,492 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 97.28% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

MA has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Oppenheimer initiated coverage on Mastercard in a research report on Tuesday, October 1st. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $591.00 price target for the company. Robert W. Baird lifted their price target on Mastercard from $545.00 to $575.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 16th. Citigroup boosted their target price on Mastercard from $566.00 to $572.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, November 4th. Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on Mastercard from $544.00 to $564.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday. Finally, BMO Capital Markets boosted their target price on Mastercard from $550.00 to $565.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-one have given a buy rating and three have issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $549.16.

Mastercard Stock Up 0.3 %

NYSE MA opened at $521.89 on Monday. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $504.09 and its 200 day moving average is $471.38. 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 $395.55 and a 12 month high of $534.03. The stock has a market cap of $479.01 billion, a PE ratio of 39.48, a P/E/G ratio of 2.28 and a beta of 1.10.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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 analysts’ expectations of $7.27 billion. Mastercard had a return on equity of 178.27% and a net margin of 45.26%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 12.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $3.39 EPS. Research analysts predict that Mastercard Incorporated will post 14.47 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Mastercard Announces Dividend

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

Insider Transactions at Mastercard

In related news, major shareholder Foundation Mastercard sold 90,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $468.80, for a total transaction of $42,192,000.00. Following the sale, the insider now owns 91,649,308 shares in the company, valued at approximately $42,965,195,590.40. This represents a 0.10 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CMO Venkata R. Madabhushi sold 4,685 shares of the 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 sale, the chief marketing officer now owns 17,118 shares in the company, valued at $8,440,885.80. The trade was a 21.49 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 99,370 shares of company stock valued at $46,797,168 in the last ninety days. Corporate 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.