Guinness Asset Management LTD Lowers Stock Position in Mastercard Incorporated $MA

Guinness Asset Management LTD lessened its holdings in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) by 2.0% during the second quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 93,546 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after selling 1,919 shares during the period. Mastercard makes up approximately 0.9% of Guinness Asset Management LTD’s portfolio, making the stock its 25th biggest holding. Guinness Asset Management LTD’s holdings in Mastercard were worth $52,553,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. LGT Financial Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Mastercard during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Family Legacy Financial Solutions LLC bought a new stake in shares of Mastercard in the second quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Flaharty Asset Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Mastercard during the first quarter worth $27,000. Keystone Global Partners LLC bought a new position in Mastercard in the 1st quarter worth about $31,000. Finally, IMG Wealth Management Inc. bought a new position in shares of Mastercard in the second quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Institutional investors own 97.28% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms recently weighed in on MA. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Mastercard from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, October 18th. Wells Fargo & Company raised Mastercard to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 22nd. The Goldman Sachs Group reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Mastercard in a report on Friday, August 1st. Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on shares of Mastercard from $639.00 to $661.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, August 1st. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada increased their target price on shares of Mastercard from $650.00 to $656.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, August 1st. Five research 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 company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $638.96.

Insider Transactions at Mastercard

In related news, CFO J. Mehra Sachin sold 17,816 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $586.89, for a total transaction of $10,456,032.24. Following the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 31,234 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $18,330,922.26. This represents a 36.32% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 0.09% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Mastercard Trading Down 0.0%

NYSE:MA opened at $573.72 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.41, a current ratio of 1.16 and a quick ratio of 1.16. The firm has a market capitalization of $518.65 billion, a P/E ratio of 38.69, a PEG ratio of 2.35 and a beta of 0.97. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $579.51 and its 200 day simple moving average is $566.36. Mastercard Incorporated has a one year low of $465.59 and a one year high of $601.77.

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

Mastercard Announces Dividend

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

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.