Mastercard Incorporated $MA Shares Sold by Wealth Enhancement Trust Services Inc.

Wealth Enhancement Trust Services Inc. lessened its stake in shares of Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) by 11.8% during the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 6,717 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after selling 902 shares during the period. Wealth Enhancement Trust Services Inc.’s holdings in Mastercard were worth $3,704,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the stock. Athena Wealth Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Mastercard by 3.8% during the second quarter. Athena Wealth Management LLC now owns 514 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $264,000 after purchasing an additional 19 shares during the period. Novem Group boosted its holdings in Mastercard by 0.4% in the second quarter. Novem Group now owns 4,680 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $2,404,000 after acquiring an additional 19 shares in the last quarter. Vista Capital Partners Inc. grew its stake in Mastercard by 4.5% in the second quarter. Vista Capital Partners Inc. now owns 444 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $228,000 after acquiring an additional 19 shares during the period. Buckley Wealth Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Mastercard by 0.8% during the fourth quarter. Buckley Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,504 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $1,430,000 after acquiring an additional 20 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Cladis Investment Advisory LLC raised its position in shares of Mastercard by 4.9% during the fourth quarter. Cladis Investment Advisory LLC now owns 428 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $245,000 after purchasing an additional 20 shares during the period. 97.28% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have weighed in on MA. Loop Capital raised their price objective on shares of Mastercard from $631.00 to $647.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, July 31st. Morgan Stanley increased their price target on Mastercard from $679.00 to $681.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, July 31st. Cantor Fitzgerald lifted their price objective on shares of Mastercard from $650.00 to $695.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, August 3rd. Robert W. Baird reduced their target price on shares of Mastercard from $680.00 to $660.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, July 31st. Finally, TD Cowen increased their target price on shares of Mastercard from $664.00 to $667.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, July 31st. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty have given a Buy rating, one has issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $680.00.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Mastercard news, insider Linda Kirkpatrick sold 4,280 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the insider owned 31,179 shares in the company, valued at $17,781,695.49. This trade represents a 12.07% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, insider Sachin Mehra sold 3,266 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, September 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $584.00, for a total value of $1,907,344.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 36,650 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $21,403,600. The trade was a 8.18% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 67,618 shares of company stock valued at $38,854,630. 0.09% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Mastercard Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE MA traded up $3.13 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, reaching $569.71. 1,862,708 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,522,268. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $572.03 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $530.19. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.96, a current ratio of 1.06 and a quick ratio of 1.06. The firm has a market capitalization of $499.07 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.34, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.61 and a beta of 0.76. Mastercard Incorporated has a 52 week low of $464.52 and a 52 week high of $601.23.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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 business had revenue of $9.28 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $9.08 billion. Mastercard had a net margin of 46.34% and a return on equity of 239.99%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 14.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $4.15 earnings per share. Analysts predict that Mastercard Incorporated will post 19.9 EPS for the current year.

Mastercard Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, November 9th. Stockholders of record on Friday, October 9th will be paid a dividend of $0.87 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, October 9th. This represents a $3.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.6%. Mastercard’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 19.14%.

About Mastercard

Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE: MA) is a global payments technology company that operates a network connecting consumers, financial institutions, merchants, governments and businesses. The company facilitates the authorization, clearing and settlement of electronic payment transactions, while generally not issuing cards or extending credit itself. Its network supports payments made in stores, online and through mobile devices.

Mastercard’s products and services include consumer and commercial payment cards, digital payment solutions, payment processing, fraud prevention, cybersecurity, identity verification, data and analytics, and open banking tools.