Mastercard Incorporated $MA Shares Sold by Centurion Wealth Management LLC

Centurion Wealth Management LLC decreased its position in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) by 60.4% during the 2nd quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 657 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after selling 1,004 shares during the quarter. Centurion Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in Mastercard were worth $338,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Riggs Asset Managment Co. Inc. boosted its position in shares of Mastercard by 20.0% in the 2nd quarter. Riggs Asset Managment Co. Inc. now owns 108 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $61,000 after buying an additional 18 shares in the last quarter. Thomasville National Bank increased its holdings in Mastercard by 4.1% during the 4th quarter. Thomasville National Bank now owns 479 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $273,000 after acquiring an additional 19 shares in the last quarter. Castle Rock Wealth Management LLC raised its position in Mastercard by 2.8% during the fourth quarter. Castle Rock Wealth Management LLC now owns 695 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $387,000 after acquiring an additional 19 shares during the last quarter. Resurgent Financial Advisors LLC raised its position in Mastercard by 1.2% during the third quarter. Resurgent Financial Advisors LLC now owns 1,597 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $908,000 after acquiring an additional 19 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Silicon Valley Capital Partners lifted its holdings in shares of Mastercard by 1.1% in the third quarter. Silicon Valley Capital Partners now owns 1,717 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $977,000 after purchasing an additional 19 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 97.28% of the company’s stock.

Mastercard Stock Performance

Mastercard stock opened at $561.79 on Tuesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $492.13 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.90, a PEG ratio of 1.70 and a beta of 0.71. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $523.68 and a 200 day moving average price of $515.45. Mastercard Incorporated has a 52 week low of $464.52 and a 52 week high of $601.77. The company has a current ratio of 1.06, a quick ratio of 1.06 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.96.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 30th. The credit services provider reported $5.04 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.77 by $0.27. The firm had revenue of $9.28 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $9.08 billion. Mastercard had a return on equity of 239.99% and a net margin of 46.34%.The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 14.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company earned $4.15 EPS. Equities research analysts anticipate that Mastercard Incorporated will post 19.81 earnings per share for the current year.

Mastercard Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 7th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, July 9th were issued a dividend of $0.87 per share. This represents a $3.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.6%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, July 9th. Mastercard’s dividend payout ratio is presently 19.14%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have recently commented on MA shares. Raymond James Financial reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $632.00 price target on shares of Mastercard in a research report on Friday, July 31st. The Goldman Sachs Group restated a “buy” rating and set a $701.00 price objective on shares of Mastercard in a research report on Thursday, July 30th. Cantor Fitzgerald upped their target price on Mastercard from $650.00 to $695.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, August 3rd. TD Cowen increased their target price on Mastercard from $664.00 to $667.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, July 31st. Finally, Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of Mastercard in a research report on Tuesday, July 21st. Five analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-four have given a Buy rating, one has given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Mastercard currently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $661.93.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, insider Sandra A. Arkell sold 200 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, July 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $540.00, for a total value of $108,000.00. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 3,322 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,793,880. This trade represents a 5.68% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, insider Linda Pistecchia Kirkpatrick sold 4,280 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $570.31, for a total transaction of $2,440,926.80. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 31,179 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $17,781,695.49. The trade was a 12.07% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. In the last three months, insiders sold 62,913 shares of company stock valued at $35,769,036. 0.09% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Mastercard Company Profile

Mastercard Incorporated is a global payments technology company that operates a network connecting consumers, financial institutions, merchants, governments and businesses in more than 200 countries and territories. The company facilitates electronic payments and transaction processing for credit, debit and prepaid card products carrying the Mastercard brand, while also providing a range of payment-related services to issuers, acquirers and merchants. Its technology and network enable authorization, clearing and settlement of payments and support a broad set of use cases including point-of-sale, e-commerce and mobile payments.

Beyond core transaction processing, Mastercard offers a suite of value-added services such as fraud and risk management, identity and authentication tools, tokenization and digital wallet support, cross-border and commercial payment solutions, and data analytics and consulting services for merchants and financial partners.