Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) Shares Sold by Parnassus Investments LLC

Parnassus Investments LLC cut its holdings in shares of Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) by 4.0% in the third quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 2,819,634 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after selling 116,577 shares during the quarter. Mastercard accounts for 3.0% of Parnassus Investments LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 8th biggest holding. Parnassus Investments LLC’s holdings in Mastercard were worth $1,392,335,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Capital Research Global Investors lifted its holdings in shares of Mastercard by 0.3% during the 1st quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 13,651,904 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $6,574,347,000 after buying an additional 43,881 shares during the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Mastercard by 120,665.3% in the 3rd quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 8,041,758 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $3,971,020,000 after acquiring an additional 8,035,099 shares in the last quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. raised its stake in shares of Mastercard by 1.4% in the 2nd quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 5,082,729 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $2,241,297,000 after acquiring an additional 71,569 shares in the last quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board raised its stake in shares of Mastercard by 2.7% in the 2nd quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board now owns 4,327,168 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $1,908,973,000 after acquiring an additional 113,238 shares in the last quarter. Finally, American Century Companies Inc. raised its stake in shares of Mastercard by 0.9% in the 2nd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 4,250,760 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $1,875,266,000 after acquiring an additional 38,380 shares in the last quarter. 97.28% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Mastercard Price Performance

Shares of MA stock opened at $521.63 on Tuesday. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $504.78 and its 200 day simple moving average is $471.95. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.36, a current ratio of 1.29 and a quick ratio of 1.29. The firm has a market cap of $478.77 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 39.46, a P/E/G ratio of 2.32 and a beta of 1.10. Mastercard Incorporated has a one year low of $398.26 and a one year high of $534.03.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 31st. The credit services provider reported $3.89 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.73 by $0.16. The business had revenue of $7.37 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.27 billion. Mastercard had a return on equity of 178.27% and a net margin of 45.26%. The firm’s revenue was up 12.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $3.39 earnings per share. On average, analysts expect that Mastercard Incorporated will post 14.47 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Mastercard Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 8th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, October 9th were issued a $0.66 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, October 9th. This represents a $2.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.51%. Mastercard’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 19.97%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on the company. BMO Capital Markets raised their price objective on Mastercard from $550.00 to $565.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 14th. Robert W. Baird raised their price objective on Mastercard from $545.00 to $575.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 16th. BNP Paribas downgraded Mastercard from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $470.00 price objective on the stock. in a research note on Tuesday, September 3rd. Susquehanna raised their price objective on Mastercard from $540.00 to $605.00 and gave the company a “positive” rating in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Finally, William Blair raised Mastercard to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 31st. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-one have issued a buy rating and three have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $549.16.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CMO Venkata R. Madabhushi sold 4,685 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, September 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $489.86, for a total transaction of $2,294,994.10. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief marketing officer now directly owns 15,031 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,363,085.66. This represents a 23.76 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, major shareholder Foundation Mastercard sold 90,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $468.80, for a total value of $42,192,000.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 91,649,308 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $42,965,195,590.40. This represents a 0.10 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 99,370 shares of company stock worth $46,797,168 over the last ninety days. 0.10% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.