Mastercard Incorporated $MA Shares Sold by Wesleyan Assurance Society

Wesleyan Assurance Society cut its holdings in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) by 0.2% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 36,190 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after selling 80 shares during the period. Mastercard comprises approximately 1.3% of Wesleyan Assurance Society’s holdings, making the stock its 20th biggest position. Wesleyan Assurance Society’s holdings in Mastercard were worth $20,326,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. ORG Partners LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Mastercard by 73.2% in the 2nd quarter. ORG Partners LLC now owns 698 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $394,000 after buying an additional 295 shares during the period. Ethos Financial Group LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Mastercard by 19.5% in the 1st quarter. Ethos Financial Group LLC now owns 3,174 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $1,683,000 after buying an additional 518 shares during the period. Curio Wealth LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Mastercard by 22,400.0% in the 2nd quarter. Curio Wealth LLC now owns 225 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $126,000 after buying an additional 224 shares during the period. Wheelhouse Advisory Group LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Mastercard by 4.4% in the 2nd quarter. Wheelhouse Advisory Group LLC now owns 1,336 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $751,000 after buying an additional 56 shares during the period. Finally, Canandaigua National Trust Co of Florida boosted its holdings in shares of Mastercard by 36.4% in the 1st quarter. Canandaigua National Trust Co of Florida now owns 693 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $380,000 after buying an additional 185 shares during the period. 97.28% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity at Mastercard

In other Mastercard news, CFO J. Mehra Sachin sold 17,263 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $591.00, for a total transaction of $10,202,433.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 31,234 shares in the company, valued at approximately $18,459,294. The trade was a 35.60% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Company insiders own 0.09% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on shares of Mastercard from $639.00 to $661.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, August 1st. Seaport Res Ptn upgraded shares of Mastercard from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Monday, July 14th. Robert W. Baird lifted their price objective on shares of Mastercard from $640.00 to $660.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, October 6th. TD Cowen reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $645.00 price objective on shares of Mastercard in a research report on Monday, August 11th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Mastercard in a research report on Saturday. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-two have assigned a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Mastercard presently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $638.96.

Mastercard Stock Down 0.0%

MA stock opened at $573.72 on Monday. Mastercard Incorporated has a 52 week low of $465.59 and a 52 week high of $601.77. The company has a market capitalization of $518.65 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 38.69, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.35 and a beta of 0.97. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $579.51 and its two-hundred day moving average is $566.36. 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 (NYSE:MA) last released 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. Mastercard had a net margin of 44.93% and a return on equity of 200.01%. The company had revenue of $8.13 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.95 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $3.50 EPS. Mastercard’s revenue was up 16.8% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts forecast 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. Shareholders of record on Thursday, October 9th will be given a dividend of $0.76 per share. This represents a $3.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.5%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, October 9th. Mastercard’s payout ratio is 20.50%.

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.