Meeder Asset Management Inc. Cuts Stock Holdings in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA)

Meeder Asset Management Inc. trimmed its position in shares of Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) by 9.1% during the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 11,894 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after selling 1,186 shares during the quarter. Meeder Asset Management Inc.’s holdings in Mastercard were worth $5,873,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of MA. Highline Wealth Partners LLC purchased a new position in shares of Mastercard in the 3rd quarter worth about $25,000. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL bought a new stake in Mastercard in the 2nd quarter valued at about $34,000. First Personal Financial Services bought a new stake in shares of Mastercard during the third quarter valued at about $39,000. Fairway Wealth LLC bought a new stake in shares of Mastercard during the second quarter valued at about $35,000. Finally, Lowe Wealth Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Mastercard by 74.0% during the third quarter. Lowe Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 87 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $43,000 after buying an additional 37 shares during the period. 97.28% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Mastercard Price Performance

MA opened at $521.63 on Tuesday. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $504.78 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $471.95. The company has a current ratio of 1.29, a quick ratio of 1.29 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.36. The company has a market cap of $478.77 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 39.46, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.32 and a beta of 1.10. Mastercard Incorporated has a 12-month low of $398.26 and a 12-month high of $534.03.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 31st. The credit services provider reported $3.89 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.73 by $0.16. The business had revenue of $7.37 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate 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 prior year, the company earned $3.39 earnings per share. Research analysts predict that Mastercard Incorporated will post 14.47 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Mastercard Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared 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 was Wednesday, October 9th. This represents a $2.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.51%. Mastercard’s payout ratio is presently 19.97%.

Insider Activity

In other news, CMO Venkata R. Madabhushi sold 4,685 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, September 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $489.86, for a total transaction of $2,294,994.10. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief marketing officer now directly owns 15,031 shares in the company, valued at $7,363,085.66. This trade represents a 23.76 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, major shareholder Foundation Mastercard sold 90,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $468.80, for a total value of $42,192,000.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 91,649,308 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $42,965,195,590.40. The trade was a 0.10 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 99,370 shares of company stock worth $46,797,168 over the last three months. 0.10% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on MA. William Blair upgraded Mastercard to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 31st. Bank of America upped their price objective on shares of Mastercard from $480.00 to $509.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 17th. UBS Group upped their price objective on shares of Mastercard from $590.00 to $610.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 14th. Morgan Stanley upped their target price on Mastercard from $544.00 to $564.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 14th. Finally, Barclays upped their target price on Mastercard from $536.00 to $576.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 10th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-one have issued a buy rating and three have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Mastercard has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $549.16.

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.