Mastercard Incorporated $MA Shares Sold by Stableford Capital II LLC

Stableford Capital II LLC lowered its stake in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) by 2.9% during the second quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 4,757 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after selling 140 shares during the period. Mastercard comprises 1.0% of Stableford Capital II LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 23rd biggest position. Stableford Capital II LLC’s holdings in Mastercard were worth $2,703,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in MA. Kingstone Capital Partners Texas LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Mastercard in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $11,421,213,000. Nuveen LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Mastercard during the 1st quarter worth $4,238,764,000. Wellington Management Group LLP grew its stake in shares of Mastercard by 38.6% during the first quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 13,526,118 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $7,413,936,000 after purchasing an additional 3,765,378 shares in the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. increased its holdings in Mastercard by 3,493.6% in the second quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 934,110 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $524,914,000 after buying an additional 908,116 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD raised its stake in Mastercard by 4.7% in the first quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 20,096,979 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $11,015,557,000 after buying an additional 907,184 shares in the last quarter. 97.28% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Mastercard Stock Down 0.8%

MA stock opened at $563.30 on Thursday. The company has a market cap of $509.23 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 37.98, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.33 and a beta of 0.97. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $580.71 and a 200 day moving average price of $563.06. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.41, a current ratio of 1.16 and a quick ratio of 1.16. Mastercard Incorporated has a 12 month low of $465.59 and a 12 month high of $601.77.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 31st. The credit services provider reported $4.15 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $4.05 by $0.10. Mastercard had a net margin of 44.93% and a return on equity of 200.01%. The company had revenue of $8.13 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.95 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $3.50 EPS. Mastercard’s revenue for the quarter was up 16.8% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts expect that Mastercard Incorporated will post 15.91 earnings per share for the current year.

Mastercard Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 7th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, October 9th will be paid a dividend of $0.76 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, October 9th. This represents a $3.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.5%. Mastercard’s dividend payout ratio is currently 20.50%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Mastercard news, CFO J. Mehra Sachin sold 17,263 shares of Mastercard stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, September 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $591.00, for a total value of $10,202,433.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 31,234 shares in the company, valued at approximately $18,459,294. This trade represents a 35.60% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.09% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Seaport Res Ptn upgraded Mastercard from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday, July 14th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft initiated coverage on shares of Mastercard in a research note on Thursday, July 17th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $650.00 price target on the stock. Wolfe Research set a $655.00 price objective on shares of Mastercard in a research report on Monday, June 23rd. Truist Financial dropped their target price on shares of Mastercard from $640.00 to $612.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, July 17th. Finally, TD Cowen reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $645.00 price target on shares of Mastercard in a research report on Monday, August 11th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-five have assigned a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $634.04.

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.