Stonebridge Financial Group LLC Lowers Stake in Mastercard Incorporated $MA

Stonebridge Financial Group LLC cut its stake in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) by 0.4% during the second quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 8,931 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after selling 35 shares during the quarter. Stonebridge Financial Group LLC’s holdings in Mastercard were worth $5,019,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

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

Mastercard Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:MA opened at $563.77 on Friday. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $581.06 and its 200 day moving average price is $562.68. Mastercard Incorporated has a 12 month low of $465.59 and a 12 month 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. The firm has a market capitalization of $509.65 billion, a P/E ratio of 38.02, a P/E/G ratio of 2.36 and a beta of 0.97.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 31st. The credit services provider reported $4.15 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 for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.95 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $3.50 EPS. Mastercard’s revenue for the quarter was up 16.8% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Mastercard Incorporated will post 15.91 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Mastercard Dividend Announcement

The business 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. This represents a $3.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.5%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, October 9th. Mastercard’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 20.50%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have commented on MA. Wolfe Research set a $655.00 price target on shares of Mastercard in a research report on Monday, June 23rd. KeyCorp raised their price target on shares of Mastercard from $635.00 to $660.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, August 1st. Truist Financial decreased their price target on shares of Mastercard from $640.00 to $612.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, July 17th. The Goldman Sachs Group reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Mastercard in a research report on Friday, August 1st. Finally, Seaport Res Ptn raised shares of Mastercard from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Monday, July 14th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-five have issued a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $634.04.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CFO J. Mehra Sachin sold 17,263 shares of Mastercard stock in a transaction on 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 $18,459,294. This trade represents a 35.60% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 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.