Bank of Montreal Can Sells 1,408,228 Shares of Mastercard Incorporated $MA

Bank of Montreal Can trimmed its position in shares of Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) by 44.0% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 1,795,660 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after selling 1,408,228 shares during the period. Bank of Montreal Can owned 0.20% of Mastercard worth $1,009,053,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of MA. Brighton Jones LLC increased its holdings in Mastercard by 42.3% in the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 6,824 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $3,594,000 after acquiring an additional 2,028 shares during the last quarter. Brookstone Capital Management increased its holdings in Mastercard by 3.1% in the 1st quarter. Brookstone Capital Management now owns 8,292 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $4,545,000 after acquiring an additional 246 shares during the last quarter. Novare Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in Mastercard by 8.8% in the 1st quarter. Novare Capital Management LLC now owns 419 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $229,000 after acquiring an additional 34 shares during the last quarter. Whelan Financial increased its holdings in Mastercard by 119.0% in the 1st quarter. Whelan Financial now owns 1,016 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $557,000 after acquiring an additional 552 shares during the last quarter. Finally, McGlone Suttner Wealth Management Inc. increased its holdings in Mastercard by 7.8% in the 1st quarter. McGlone Suttner Wealth Management Inc. now owns 455 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $250,000 after acquiring an additional 33 shares during the last quarter. 97.28% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Mastercard

In related news, CFO J. Mehra Sachin sold 17,816 shares of Mastercard stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $586.89, for a total transaction of $10,456,032.24. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 31,234 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $18,330,922.26. The trade was a 36.32% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.09% of the company’s stock.

Mastercard Stock Performance

Mastercard stock opened at $552.59 on Monday. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $576.43 and its 200-day moving average price is $568.44. Mastercard Incorporated has a twelve month low of $465.59 and a twelve month high of $601.77. The company has a quick ratio of 1.16, a current ratio of 1.16 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.41. The company has a market cap of $499.54 billion, a PE ratio of 37.26, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.27 and a beta of 0.97.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 30th. The credit services provider reported $4.38 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.31 by $0.07. Mastercard had a net margin of 44.93% and a return on equity of 200.01%. The firm had revenue of $8.60 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $8.53 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $3.89 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 16.7% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Mastercard Incorporated will post 15.91 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Mastercard Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 7th. Investors of record on Thursday, October 9th will be paid a dividend of $0.76 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, October 9th. This represents a $3.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.6%. Mastercard’s payout ratio is currently 19.44%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

MA has been the topic of a number of research reports. KeyCorp reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $665.00 price target on shares of Mastercard in a report on Wednesday, October 22nd. UBS Group lifted their price target on shares of Mastercard from $690.00 to $700.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday. Cowen reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Mastercard in a report on Friday. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft started coverage on shares of Mastercard in a report on Thursday, July 17th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $650.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Seaport Res Ptn upgraded shares of Mastercard from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday, July 14th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-three have given a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $647.89.

Mastercard Company 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.