Mastercard Incorporated $MA Holdings Cut by Wambolt & Associates LLC

Wambolt & Associates LLC decreased its position in shares of Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) by 9.1% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 8,580 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after selling 854 shares during the quarter. Mastercard comprises about 1.6% of Wambolt & Associates LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 11th largest holding. Wambolt & Associates LLC’s holdings in Mastercard were worth $4,844,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in MA. RiverPark Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Mastercard by 1.2% during the second quarter. RiverPark Advisors LLC now owns 3,821 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $2,147,000 after buying an additional 45 shares in the last quarter. Riverpark Capital Management LLC grew its position in Mastercard by 7.4% during the 2nd quarter. Riverpark Capital Management LLC now owns 2,866 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $1,611,000 after purchasing an additional 198 shares in the last quarter. Employees Retirement System of Texas grew its holdings in shares of Mastercard by 9.1% during the second quarter. Employees Retirement System of Texas now owns 329,492 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $185,155,000 after buying an additional 27,433 shares in the last quarter. Blue Whale Capital LLP increased its holdings in shares of Mastercard by 13.6% in the 2nd quarter. Blue Whale Capital LLP now owns 59,488 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $33,429,000 after purchasing an additional 7,124 shares during the period. Finally, Choreo LLC increased its stake in Mastercard by 13.6% in the 2nd quarter. Choreo LLC now owns 25,718 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $14,452,000 after buying an additional 3,076 shares during the period. 97.28% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Mastercard Trading Up 1.6%

Shares of Mastercard stock opened at $546.50 on Wednesday. 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 company’s fifty day moving average price is $561.57 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $568.80. Mastercard Incorporated has a 52-week low of $465.59 and a 52-week high of $601.77. The firm has a market capitalization of $490.75 billion, a PE ratio of 36.85, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.27 and a beta of 0.92.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 30th. The credit services provider reported $4.38 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $4.31 by $0.07. The firm had revenue of $8.60 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $8.53 billion. Mastercard had a net margin of 44.93% and a return on equity of 200.01%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 16.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $3.89 earnings per share. On average, analysts expect that Mastercard Incorporated will post 15.91 EPS for the current year.

Mastercard Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 7th. Investors of record on Thursday, October 9th were given a dividend of $0.76 per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, October 9th. This represents a $3.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.6%. Mastercard’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 19.44%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on MA shares. Robert W. Baird raised their price target on Mastercard from $640.00 to $660.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, October 6th. UBS Group increased their target price on shares of Mastercard from $690.00 to $700.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, October 31st. The Goldman Sachs Group reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $713.00 price target on shares of Mastercard in a research report on Thursday, October 30th. Morgan Stanley set a $665.00 price objective on shares of Mastercard and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, October 31st. Finally, Cowen reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Mastercard in a report on Friday, October 31st. Four analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-two have issued a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $652.50.

Insider Buying and Selling at Mastercard

In other news, CFO J. Mehra Sachin sold 17,263 shares of Mastercard 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 transaction, the chief financial officer owned 31,234 shares in the company, valued at approximately $18,459,294. The trade was a 35.60% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Insiders own 0.09% of the company’s stock.

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.