Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria S.A. Sells 4,067 Shares of Mastercard Incorporated $MA

Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria S.A. lessened its holdings in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) by 2.3% during the 2nd quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 175,824 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after selling 4,067 shares during the period. Mastercard makes up approximately 0.9% of Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria S.A.’s portfolio, making the stock its 20th biggest position. Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria S.A.’s holdings in Mastercard were worth $98,751,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of MA. Brighton Jones LLC grew its holdings in Mastercard by 42.3% during the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 6,824 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $3,594,000 after acquiring an additional 2,028 shares during the period. Allen Capital Group LLC boosted its position in shares of Mastercard by 14.0% in the 1st quarter. Allen Capital Group LLC now owns 1,238 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $679,000 after purchasing an additional 152 shares during the last quarter. Napatree Capital LLC bought a new stake in Mastercard in the first quarter valued at about $249,000. Ascent Wealth Partners LLC increased its holdings in Mastercard by 6.3% in the first quarter. Ascent Wealth Partners LLC now owns 11,272 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $6,178,000 after purchasing an additional 670 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Graypoint LLC lifted its stake in Mastercard by 1.0% in the first quarter. Graypoint LLC now owns 15,771 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $8,644,000 after buying an additional 160 shares during the period. 97.28% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Cowen restated a “buy” rating on shares of Mastercard in a research report on Friday, October 31st. Robert W. Baird upped their target price 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. Truist Financial cut their target price on shares of Mastercard from $638.00 to $630.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, November 4th. 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 target for the company. Finally, Macquarie raised their price objective on Mastercard from $655.00 to $660.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, October 31st. Four analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-two have assigned a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $652.50.

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 value of $10,456,032.24. Following the sale, the chief financial officer owned 31,234 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $18,330,922.26. This trade represents a 36.32% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.09% of the company’s stock.

Mastercard Stock Down 1.1%

Shares of MA stock opened at $555.11 on Friday. Mastercard Incorporated has a 12-month low of $465.59 and a 12-month high of $601.77. The company has a quick ratio of 1.16, a current ratio of 1.16 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.41. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $569.27 and a 200-day moving average of $569.64. The company has a market capitalization of $498.49 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 37.43, a P/E/G ratio of 2.27 and a beta of 0.92.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 30th. The credit services provider reported $4.38 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $4.31 by $0.07. The business had revenue of $8.60 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $8.53 billion. Mastercard had a net margin of 44.93% and a return on equity of 200.01%. The firm’s revenue was up 16.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $3.89 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Mastercard Incorporated will post 15.91 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Mastercard Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 7th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, October 9th were given a dividend of $0.76 per share. This represents a $3.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.5%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, October 9th. Mastercard’s dividend payout ratio is currently 19.44%.

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.