Mastercard Incorporated $MA Shares Sold by Stance Capital LLC

Stance Capital LLC lessened its stake in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) by 27.2% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 5,818 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after selling 2,174 shares during the period. Mastercard accounts for about 1.2% of Stance Capital LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 10th biggest position. Stance Capital LLC’s holdings in Mastercard were worth $3,269,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in MA. ORG Partners LLC increased its position in Mastercard by 73.2% during the 2nd quarter. ORG Partners LLC now owns 698 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $394,000 after purchasing an additional 295 shares during the period. Ethos Financial Group LLC boosted its stake in shares of Mastercard by 19.5% in the first quarter. Ethos Financial Group LLC now owns 3,174 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $1,683,000 after buying an additional 518 shares in the last quarter. Curio Wealth LLC raised its position in Mastercard by 22,400.0% in the second quarter. Curio Wealth LLC now owns 225 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $126,000 after acquiring an additional 224 shares in the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in Mastercard by 1.2% in the second quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 78,475,807 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $44,098,695,000 after acquiring an additional 931,132 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Wheelhouse Advisory Group LLC lifted 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 valued at $751,000 after acquiring an additional 56 shares during the period. 97.28% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Mastercard Stock Up 1.4%

Shares of NYSE:MA opened at $571.40 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $513.12 billion, a P/E ratio of 36.53, a P/E/G ratio of 2.25 and a beta of 0.87. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $554.16 and its 200-day simple moving average is $566.39. Mastercard Incorporated has a 52-week low of $465.59 and a 52-week high of $601.77. The company has a quick ratio of 1.12, a current ratio of 1.12 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.40.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA) last released its earnings results on Thursday, October 30th. The credit services provider reported $4.38 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.31 by $0.07. Mastercard had a net margin of 45.28% and a return on equity of 202.03%. The company had revenue of $8.60 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $8.53 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $3.89 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 16.7% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Mastercard Incorporated will post 15.91 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Mastercard Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, February 9th. Shareholders of record on Friday, January 9th will be paid a $0.87 dividend. This represents a $3.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.6%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, January 9th. This is an increase from Mastercard’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.76. Mastercard’s dividend payout ratio is presently 19.44%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have recently weighed in on MA shares. KeyCorp reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $665.00 price target on shares of Mastercard in a report on Wednesday, October 22nd. Tigress Financial lifted their price target on shares of Mastercard from $685.00 to $730.00 and gave the company a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 6th. Hsbc Global Res raised Mastercard from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday, December 8th. Wall Street Zen cut Mastercard from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Sunday. Finally, Truist Financial decreased their target price on Mastercard from $638.00 to $630.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, November 4th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-two have issued a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Mastercard presently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $654.81.

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.