Mastercard Incorporated $MA Shares Sold by Clifford Swan Investment Counsel LLC

Clifford Swan Investment Counsel LLC reduced its holdings in shares of Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) by 60.6% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 939 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after selling 1,445 shares during the period. Clifford Swan Investment Counsel LLC’s holdings in Mastercard were worth $469,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of MA. Riggs Asset Managment Co. Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Mastercard by 20.0% during the second 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 during the period. Affinity Capital Advisors LLC increased its position in Mastercard by 0.7% in the 4th quarter. Affinity Capital Advisors LLC now owns 2,939 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $1,678,000 after acquiring an additional 19 shares during the period. Abacus Planning Group Inc. increased its position in Mastercard by 3.3% in the 4th quarter. Abacus Planning Group Inc. now owns 590 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $337,000 after acquiring an additional 19 shares during the period. Thomasville National Bank raised its stake 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 during the last quarter. Finally, Castle Rock Wealth Management LLC raised its stake in Mastercard by 2.8% during the 4th quarter. Castle Rock Wealth Management LLC now owns 695 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $387,000 after acquiring an additional 19 shares during the last quarter. 97.28% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Mastercard Price Performance

Shares of NYSE MA opened at $543.55 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.56, a quick ratio of 0.98 and a current ratio of 0.98. Mastercard Incorporated has a one year low of $464.52 and a one year high of $601.77. The firm has a market capitalization of $480.27 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.46, a PEG ratio of 1.69 and a beta of 0.73. The company’s fifty day moving average is $503.99 and its two-hundred day moving average is $516.23.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 30th. The credit services provider reported $4.60 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.41 by $0.19. Mastercard had a net margin of 45.88% and a return on equity of 212.96%. The business had revenue of $8.40 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $8.26 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $3.73 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 15.8% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts forecast that Mastercard Incorporated will post 19.62 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Mastercard Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 7th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, July 9th will be given a dividend of $0.87 per share. This represents a $3.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.6%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, July 9th. Mastercard’s dividend payout ratio is presently 20.14%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

MA has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Weiss Ratings cut Mastercard from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research report on Friday, April 24th. Dbs Bank upgraded Mastercard to a “moderate buy” rating in a research note on Friday, March 27th. Raymond James Financial set a $609.00 price target on Mastercard in a report on Friday, May 1st. TD Cowen lowered their price objective on shares of Mastercard from $671.00 to $664.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, July 7th. Finally, Susquehanna dropped their price objective on shares of Mastercard from $670.00 to $665.00 and set a “positive” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, May 1st. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty have given a Buy rating, one has issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Mastercard presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $653.92.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Raj Seshadri sold 4,828 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, July 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $525.00, for a total transaction of $2,534,700.00. Following the sale, the insider owned 16,429 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,625,225. The trade was a 22.71% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, insider Sandra A. Arkell sold 200 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, July 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $540.00, for a total value of $108,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 3,322 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,793,880. This represents a 5.68% decrease in their position. 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. Insiders have sold 7,005 shares of company stock worth $3,689,976 over the last 90 days. 0.09% of the stock is currently owned by company 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.