Conning Inc. Reduces Stake in Mastercard Incorporated $MA

Conning Inc. trimmed its stake in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) by 0.5% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 12,805 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after selling 67 shares during the quarter. Conning Inc.’s holdings in Mastercard were worth $7,196,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Family Legacy Financial Solutions LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Mastercard during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Flaharty Asset Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Mastercard during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Keystone Global Partners LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Mastercard during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Hughes Financial Services LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Mastercard during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $34,000. Finally, 1 North Wealth Services LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Mastercard during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $44,000. 97.28% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Mastercard Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:MA opened at $556.80 on Friday. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $581.01 and its 200-day moving average price is $562.77. The firm has a market capitalization of $503.35 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 37.55, a PEG ratio of 2.31 and a beta of 0.97. Mastercard Incorporated has a one year low of $465.59 and a one year high of $601.77. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.41, a current ratio of 1.16 and a quick ratio of 1.16.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 31st. The credit services provider reported $4.15 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.05 by $0.10. The firm had revenue of $8.13 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.95 billion. Mastercard had a net margin of 44.93% and a return on equity of 200.01%. The business’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 EPS. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Mastercard Incorporated will post 15.91 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Mastercard Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 7th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, October 9th will be issued a $0.76 dividend. 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 0.5%. Mastercard’s dividend payout ratio is presently 20.50%.

Insider Activity at Mastercard

In other news, CFO J. Mehra Sachin sold 17,816 shares of the stock in a transaction on 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 transaction, the chief financial officer owned 31,234 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $18,330,922.26. This represents a 36.32% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. 0.09% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts recently commented on the stock. Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Mastercard in a research note on Wednesday. The Goldman Sachs Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Mastercard in a report on Friday, August 1st. Truist Financial decreased their target price on shares of Mastercard from $640.00 to $612.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, July 17th. Robert W. Baird upped their target price on shares of Mastercard from $640.00 to $660.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday. Finally, Seaport Res Ptn raised shares of Mastercard from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday, July 14th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-five have assigned a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $634.04.

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.