Clifford Swan Investment Counsel LLC Sells 75 Shares of Mastercard Incorporated $MA

Clifford Swan Investment Counsel LLC reduced its holdings in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) by 3.0% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 2,391 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after selling 75 shares during the quarter. Clifford Swan Investment Counsel LLC’s holdings in Mastercard were worth $1,343,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. ORG Partners LLC increased its holdings in Mastercard by 73.2% in the second quarter. ORG Partners LLC now owns 698 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $394,000 after purchasing an additional 295 shares in the last quarter. Ethos Financial Group LLC increased its holdings in Mastercard by 19.5% in the first quarter. Ethos Financial Group LLC now owns 3,174 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $1,683,000 after purchasing an additional 518 shares in the last quarter. Wheelhouse Advisory Group LLC increased its holdings in Mastercard by 4.4% in the second quarter. Wheelhouse Advisory Group LLC now owns 1,336 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $751,000 after purchasing an additional 56 shares in the last quarter. Canandaigua National Trust Co of Florida increased its holdings in Mastercard by 36.4% in the first quarter. Canandaigua National Trust Co of Florida now owns 693 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $380,000 after purchasing an additional 185 shares in the last quarter. Finally, SeaBridge Investment Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Mastercard by 4.3% in the second quarter. SeaBridge Investment Advisors LLC now owns 6,463 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $3,632,000 after purchasing an additional 264 shares in the last quarter. 97.28% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Mastercard Stock Up 0.4%

Shares of NYSE:MA opened at $573.59 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $518.53 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 38.68, a PEG ratio of 2.34 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 Incorporated has a 12-month low of $465.59 and a 12-month high of $601.77. The business’s 50 day moving average is $579.67 and its 200 day moving average is $564.74.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, July 31st. The credit services provider reported $4.15 earnings per share (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 analysts’ expectations of $7.95 billion. Mastercard had a return on equity of 200.01% and a net margin of 44.93%.Mastercard’s quarterly revenue was up 16.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $3.50 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Mastercard Incorporated will post 15.91 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Mastercard Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 7th. Investors of record on Thursday, October 9th will be given 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 dividend yield of 0.5%. Mastercard’s payout ratio is presently 20.50%.

Insider Activity

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on the company. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft assumed coverage on Mastercard in a report on Thursday, July 17th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $650.00 target price for the company. The Goldman Sachs Group reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Mastercard in a research note on Friday, August 1st. Royal Bank Of Canada raised their price objective on Mastercard from $650.00 to $656.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, August 1st. Robert W. Baird raised their price objective on Mastercard from $640.00 to $660.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, October 6th. Finally, Citigroup raised Mastercard to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Thursday. Five analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-two have assigned a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $638.00.

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.