Advisors Capital Management LLC Trims Stock Position in Mastercard Incorporated $MA

Advisors Capital Management LLC cut its stake in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) by 0.9% in the first quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 80,999 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after selling 708 shares during the quarter. Advisors Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Mastercard were worth $44,397,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Ethos Financial Group LLC lifted its position in 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 acquiring an additional 518 shares during the last quarter. Fortis Advisors LLC increased its stake in Mastercard by 9.4% in the first quarter. Fortis Advisors LLC now owns 871 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $477,000 after purchasing an additional 75 shares during the period. Canandaigua National Trust Co of Florida increased its stake in Mastercard by 36.4% in the first quarter. Canandaigua National Trust Co of Florida now owns 693 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $380,000 after purchasing an additional 185 shares during the period. Kingswood Wealth Advisors LLC increased its stake in Mastercard by 18.0% in the first quarter. Kingswood Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 6,870 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $3,766,000 after purchasing an additional 1,047 shares during the period. Finally, Kornitzer Capital Management Inc. KS increased its stake in Mastercard by 2.8% in the first quarter. Kornitzer Capital Management Inc. KS now owns 22,640 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $12,409,000 after purchasing an additional 612 shares during the period. 97.28% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Mastercard Stock Down 0.7%

Shares of NYSE MA opened at $580.07 on Thursday. Mastercard Incorporated has a 12-month low of $465.59 and a 12-month high of $601.77. The company has a market capitalization of $524.39 billion, a PE ratio of 39.11, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.40 and a beta of 0.99. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.41, a current ratio of 1.16 and a quick ratio of 1.16. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $573.86 and its two-hundred day moving average is $558.03.

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

Mastercard Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 8th. Investors of record on Wednesday, July 9th were paid a dividend of $0.76 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, July 9th. This represents a $3.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.5%. Mastercard’s dividend payout ratio is presently 20.50%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

MA has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Wolfe Research set a $655.00 price objective on shares of Mastercard in a research note on Monday, June 23rd. Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on shares of Mastercard from $639.00 to $661.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, August 1st. TD Cowen reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $645.00 price target on shares of Mastercard in a research note on Monday, August 11th. Royal Bank Of Canada boosted their price target on shares of Mastercard from $650.00 to $656.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, August 1st. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Mastercard from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, July 18th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-four have issued a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $626.54.

Insider Buying and Selling at Mastercard

In related news, insider Linda Pistecchia Kirkpatrick sold 959 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, June 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $572.86, for a total transaction of $549,372.74. Following the transaction, the insider owned 25,540 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $14,630,844.40. This represents a 3.62% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Craig Vosburg sold 9,428 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, June 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $353.05, for a total transaction of $3,328,555.40. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 58,451 shares in the company, valued at $20,636,125.55. The trade was a 13.89% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 50,053 shares of company stock valued at $27,071,234. 0.09% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.