Mastercard Incorporated $MA Shares Sold by Watershed Private Wealth LLC

Watershed Private Wealth LLC trimmed its stake in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) by 5.8% in the second quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 555 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after selling 34 shares during the quarter. Watershed Private Wealth LLC’s holdings in Mastercard were worth $312,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in MA. Brighton Jones LLC raised its position in shares of Mastercard by 42.3% in the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 6,824 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $3,594,000 after buying an additional 2,028 shares during the last quarter. NewSquare Capital LLC raised its holdings in Mastercard by 550.0% in the 1st quarter. NewSquare Capital LLC now owns 325 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $178,000 after acquiring an additional 275 shares during the last quarter. Requisite Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in Mastercard in the 1st quarter valued at $310,000. Wealthcare Advisory Partners LLC raised its holdings in Mastercard by 3.2% in the 1st quarter. Wealthcare Advisory Partners LLC now owns 6,819 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $3,737,000 after acquiring an additional 212 shares during the last quarter. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC raised its holdings in Mastercard by 19.9% in the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 15,007 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $8,226,000 after acquiring an additional 2,493 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 97.28% of the company’s stock.

Mastercard Price Performance

Mastercard stock opened at $579.24 on Wednesday. Mastercard Incorporated has a 52-week low of $465.59 and a 52-week high of $601.77. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $580.78 and a 200-day moving average of $562.45. The firm has a market capitalization of $523.64 billion, a P/E ratio of 39.06, a PEG ratio of 2.37 and a beta of 0.97. 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 released 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 during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.95 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $3.50 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 16.8% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts predict that Mastercard Incorporated will post 15.91 EPS for the current year.

Mastercard Dividend Announcement

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

Insider Activity

In other Mastercard news, CFO J. Mehra Sachin sold 17,263 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, September 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $591.00, for a total value of $10,202,433.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer owned 31,234 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $18,459,294. This trade represents a 35.60% 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. Company insiders own 0.09% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms recently commented on MA. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on Mastercard from $625.00 to $650.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, August 1st. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Mastercard from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, September 26th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Mastercard in a research note on Saturday, September 27th. Seaport Res Ptn raised shares of Mastercard from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Monday, July 14th. Finally, Wolfe Research set a $655.00 price target on shares of Mastercard in a research report on Monday, June 23rd. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-five have issued a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $634.04.

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.