Forza Wealth Management LLC Reduces Stock Position in Mastercard Incorporated $MA

Forza Wealth Management LLC cut its stake in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) by 4.1% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,888 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after selling 81 shares during the period. Forza Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in Mastercard were worth $1,061,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Family Legacy Financial Solutions LLC purchased a new position in shares of Mastercard during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $26,000. Flaharty Asset Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Mastercard during the 1st quarter worth approximately $27,000. Keystone Global Partners LLC purchased a new position in shares of Mastercard during the 1st quarter worth approximately $31,000. Hughes Financial Services LLC purchased a new position in shares of Mastercard during the 1st quarter worth approximately $34,000. Finally, 1 North Wealth Services LLC purchased a new position in shares of Mastercard during the 1st quarter worth approximately $44,000. 97.28% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Mastercard news, CFO J. Mehra Sachin sold 17,816 shares of Mastercard stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $586.89, for a total value of $10,456,032.24. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 31,234 shares in the company, valued at $18,330,922.26. This trade represents a 36.32% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, Director Julius Genachowski sold 312 shares of Mastercard stock in a transaction on Monday, July 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $570.67, for a total transaction of $178,049.04. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 8,469 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,833,004.23. This trade represents a 3.55% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 35,391 shares of company stock worth $20,836,514. 0.09% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have recently weighed in on MA shares. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft started coverage on shares of Mastercard in a research note on Thursday, July 17th. They set a “buy” rating and a $650.00 price objective for the company. The Goldman Sachs Group reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Mastercard in a research note on Friday, August 1st. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Mastercard from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, September 26th. UBS Group raised their target price on shares of Mastercard from $660.00 to $670.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, June 3rd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on shares of Mastercard from $625.00 to $650.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, August 1st. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-four have assigned a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $630.89.

Mastercard Stock Up 0.2%

Shares of MA opened at $569.29 on Wednesday. The firm has a market cap of $514.64 billion, a PE ratio of 38.39, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.33 and a beta of 0.99. The company’s fifty day moving average is $579.48 and its two-hundred day moving average is $560.91. Mastercard Incorporated has a fifty-two week low of $465.59 and a fifty-two week high of $601.77. The company has a quick ratio of 1.16, a current ratio of 1.16 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.41.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 31st. The credit services provider reported $4.15 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.05 by $0.10. The company had revenue of $8.13 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.95 billion. Mastercard had a net margin of 44.93% and a return on equity of 200.01%. Mastercard’s revenue for the quarter was up 16.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $3.50 EPS. Analysts forecast that Mastercard Incorporated will post 15.91 earnings per share for the current year.

Mastercard Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 7th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, October 9th will be issued a $0.76 dividend. This represents a $3.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.5%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, October 9th. Mastercard’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 20.50%.

Mastercard 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.