Pitcairn Co. Sells 2,424 Shares of Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA)

Pitcairn Co. reduced its holdings in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) by 12.8% during the third quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 16,486 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after selling 2,424 shares during the quarter. Pitcairn Co.’s holdings in Mastercard were worth $8,141,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in MA. Highline Wealth Partners LLC bought a new position in shares of Mastercard during the 3rd quarter valued at about $25,000. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL bought a new position in shares of Mastercard during the 2nd quarter valued at about $34,000. Fairway Wealth LLC bought a new position in shares of Mastercard during the 2nd quarter valued at about $35,000. First Personal Financial Services bought a new position in shares of Mastercard during the 3rd quarter valued at about $39,000. Finally, Lowe Wealth Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Mastercard by 74.0% during the 3rd quarter. Lowe Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 87 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $43,000 after purchasing an additional 37 shares during the last quarter. 97.28% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Mastercard

In related news, CMO Venkata R. Madabhushi sold 4,685 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 owns 15,031 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,363,085.66. This trade represents a 23.76 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. 0.10% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Mastercard Stock Up 1.1 %

Shares of NYSE:MA opened at $520.76 on Friday. Mastercard Incorporated has a 52-week low of $404.32 and a 52-week high of $534.03. The firm has a market capitalization of $477.97 billion, a P/E ratio of 39.39, a P/E/G ratio of 2.29 and a beta of 1.10. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $506.91 and a 200-day moving average price of $473.55. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.36, a quick ratio of 1.29 and a current ratio of 1.29.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA) last announced its 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. 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 quarter in the prior year, the company earned $3.39 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 12.8% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Mastercard Incorporated will post 14.47 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Mastercard Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 8th. Investors 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 of this dividend was Wednesday, October 9th. Mastercard’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 19.97%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have recently commented on the company. William Blair upgraded Mastercard to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 31st. UBS Group increased their price objective on Mastercard from $590.00 to $610.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 14th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft increased their target price on Mastercard from $510.00 to $580.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, November 1st. Argus upgraded Mastercard to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Thursday, August 1st. Finally, BNP Paribas cut Mastercard from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $470.00 target price for the company. in a report on Tuesday, September 3rd. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-one have issued a buy rating and three have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average 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.