Mastercard Incorporated $MA Shares Sold by Connecticut Wealth Management LLC

Connecticut Wealth Management LLC trimmed its holdings in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) by 11.9% during the first quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 2,137 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after selling 288 shares during the period. Connecticut Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in Mastercard were worth $1,171,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Brighton Jones LLC raised its holdings in shares of Mastercard by 42.3% in the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 6,824 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $3,594,000 after purchasing an additional 2,028 shares during the period. Bank Pictet & Cie Europe AG increased its holdings in Mastercard by 11.8% during the 4th quarter. Bank Pictet & Cie Europe AG now owns 70,472 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $37,108,000 after purchasing an additional 7,452 shares during the last quarter. Mascagni Wealth Management Inc. purchased a new stake in Mastercard during the 4th quarter worth approximately $73,000. Trustco Bank Corp N Y purchased a new stake in Mastercard during the 4th quarter worth approximately $211,000. Finally, Freestone Grove Partners LP purchased a new stake in Mastercard during the 4th quarter worth approximately $2,192,000. 97.28% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have issued reports on MA. Macquarie dropped their price objective on Mastercard from $645.00 to $610.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, May 2nd. Wolfe Research set a $655.00 target price on Mastercard in a research report on Monday, June 23rd. UBS Group lifted their target price on Mastercard from $660.00 to $670.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, June 3rd. Royal Bank Of Canada lifted their target price on Mastercard from $650.00 to $656.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, August 1st. Finally, KeyCorp boosted their price objective on Mastercard from $635.00 to $660.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, August 1st. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-four have issued a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Mastercard currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $617.93.

Insider Buying and Selling at Mastercard

In other Mastercard news, insider Craig Vosburg sold 14,051 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, June 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $585.05, for a total value of $8,220,537.55. Following the transaction, the insider owned 58,451 shares in the company, valued at $34,196,757.55. The trade was a 19.38% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CFO J. Mehra Sachin sold 17,816 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $586.89, for a total value of $10,456,032.24. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 31,234 shares in the company, valued at $18,330,922.26. This trade represents a 36.32% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 56,269 shares of company stock valued at $30,634,699 in the last ninety days. Company insiders own 0.09% of the company’s stock.

Mastercard Stock Up 0.9%

Shares of Mastercard stock opened at $595.92 on Friday. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $568.38 and its 200-day moving average is $556.69. The firm has a market capitalization of $538.71 billion, a PE ratio of 40.18, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.42 and a beta of 1.03. The company has a quick ratio of 1.16, a current ratio of 1.16 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.41. Mastercard Incorporated has a 12-month low of $465.59 and a 12-month high of $601.77.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, July 31st. The credit services provider reported $4.15 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.05 by $0.10. The company had revenue of $8.13 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.95 billion. Mastercard had a return on equity of 200.01% and a net margin of 44.93%.Mastercard’s revenue for the quarter was up 16.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $3.50 earnings per share. Equities analysts anticipate that Mastercard Incorporated will post 15.91 earnings per share for the current year.

Mastercard Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 8th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, July 9th were issued a dividend of $0.76 per share. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, July 9th. This represents a $3.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.5%. 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.