Howard Financial Services LTD. Has $1.41 Million Stake in Mastercard Incorporated $MA

Howard Financial Services LTD. lessened its stake in shares of Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) by 0.8% during the second quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 2,506 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after selling 20 shares during the quarter. Howard Financial Services LTD.’s holdings in Mastercard were worth $1,408,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Flaharty Asset Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Mastercard during the 1st quarter valued at $27,000. Keystone Global Partners LLC acquired a new position in shares of Mastercard during the 1st quarter valued at $31,000. 10Elms LLP acquired a new position in shares of Mastercard during the 4th quarter valued at $33,000. Hughes Financial Services LLC acquired a new position in shares of Mastercard during the 1st quarter valued at $34,000. Finally, Mpwm Advisory Solutions LLC acquired a new position in shares of Mastercard during the 4th quarter valued at $36,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 97.28% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Mastercard

In other news, insider Raj Seshadri sold 1,100 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, June 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $546.77, for a total value of $601,447.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 12,921 shares in the company, valued at $7,064,815.17. This represents a 7.85% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CFO J. Mehra Sachin sold 17,263 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, September 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $591.00, for a total transaction of $10,202,433.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer owned 31,234 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $18,459,294. The trade was a 35.60% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 49,094 shares of company stock worth $26,521,861. 0.09% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Mastercard Stock Performance

Shares of MA stock opened at $580.75 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $525.00 billion, a PE ratio of 39.16, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.41 and a beta of 0.99. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $574.60 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $558.35. The company has a current ratio of 1.16, a quick ratio of 1.16 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.41. Mastercard Incorporated has a 12 month low of $465.59 and a 12 month high of $601.77.

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

Mastercard Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 8th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, July 9th were paid a $0.76 dividend. The ex-dividend date 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%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on shares of Mastercard from $625.00 to $650.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, August 1st. Royal Bank Of Canada boosted their target price on shares of Mastercard from $650.00 to $656.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, August 1st. Wolfe Research set a $655.00 price target on shares of Mastercard in a research note on Monday, June 23rd. The Goldman Sachs Group restated a “buy” rating on shares of Mastercard in a research note on Friday, August 1st. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group restated a “buy” rating on shares of Mastercard in a research note on Friday, June 6th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-four have assigned a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $626.54.

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.