Sentry Investment Management LLC Sells 32 Shares of Mastercard Incorporated $MA

Sentry Investment Management LLC lowered its position in shares of Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) by 1.2% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 2,608 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after selling 32 shares during the quarter. Mastercard accounts for approximately 0.8% of Sentry Investment Management LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 17th biggest holding. Sentry Investment Management LLC’s holdings in Mastercard were worth $1,467,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the business. Kingstone Capital Partners Texas LLC purchased a new position in Mastercard in the second quarter valued at about $11,421,213,000. Nuveen LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Mastercard during the 1st quarter worth approximately $4,238,764,000. Wellington Management Group LLP raised its holdings in shares of Mastercard by 38.6% in the 1st 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 during the period. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. raised its holdings in shares of Mastercard by 3,493.6% in the 2nd quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 934,110 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $524,914,000 after purchasing an additional 908,116 shares during the period. Finally, Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD lifted 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 purchasing an additional 907,184 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 97.28% of the company’s stock.

Mastercard Price Performance

MA stock opened at $561.42 on Monday. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $580.22 and a 200-day moving average of $563.50. The firm has a market capitalization of $507.53 billion, a P/E ratio of 37.86, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.30 and a beta of 0.97. Mastercard Incorporated has a 12 month low of $465.59 and a 12 month high of $601.77. The company has a current ratio of 1.16, a quick ratio of 1.16 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.41.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA) last posted its earnings results 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 business had revenue of $8.13 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $7.95 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $3.50 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 16.8% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Mastercard Incorporated will post 15.91 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Mastercard Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 7th. Investors 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 (DPR) is currently 20.50%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have recently commented on MA. Royal Bank Of Canada upped their price target on Mastercard from $650.00 to $656.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, August 1st. The Goldman Sachs Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Mastercard in a report on Friday, August 1st. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Mastercard from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Saturday. Robert W. Baird upped their price target on shares of Mastercard from $640.00 to $660.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, October 6th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft began coverage on shares of Mastercard in a report on Thursday, July 17th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $650.00 price objective for the company. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-five have given a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $634.04.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Mastercard news, CFO J. Mehra Sachin sold 17,816 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $586.89, for a total value of $10,456,032.24. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 31,234 shares in the company, valued at $18,330,922.26. This represents a 36.32% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. 0.09% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.