CRA Financial Services LLC Trims Stock Holdings in Mastercard Incorporated $MA

CRA Financial Services LLC cut its position in shares of Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) by 1.3% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 6,833 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after selling 87 shares during the quarter. CRA Financial Services LLC’s holdings in Mastercard were worth $3,840,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

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

Mastercard Stock Performance

Shares of MA stock opened at $583.88 on Monday. 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. The stock has a market capitalization of $527.83 billion, a P/E ratio of 39.37, a PEG ratio of 2.39 and a beta of 0.99. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $577.23 and its 200 day moving average is $559.16.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA) last released its earnings results on Thursday, July 31st. The credit services provider reported $4.15 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 16.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $3.50 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Mastercard Incorporated will post 15.91 earnings per share for the current year.

Mastercard Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 7th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, October 9th will be given 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 is presently 20.50%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms recently commented on MA. Wall Street Zen upgraded Mastercard from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, July 18th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on shares of Mastercard from $625.00 to $650.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, August 1st. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft started coverage on Mastercard in a research report on Thursday, July 17th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $650.00 price target for the company. Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on Mastercard from $639.00 to $661.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, August 1st. Finally, Seaport Res Ptn upgraded Mastercard from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday, July 14th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-four have given a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $630.89.

Insider Activity

In other news, CFO J. Mehra Sachin sold 17,816 shares of the business’s 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 of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $18,330,922.26. The trade was a 36.32% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, insider Linda Pistecchia Kirkpatrick sold 958 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, June 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $560.00, for a total transaction of $536,480.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 23,624 shares in the company, valued at approximately $13,229,440. This represents a 3.90% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 38,717 shares of company stock valued at $22,684,831. Company insiders own 0.09% of the company’s stock.

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.