Prudent Man Advisors LLC Cuts Stock Position in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA)

Prudent Man Advisors LLC lowered its position in shares of Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) by 5.0% in the third quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 2,684 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after selling 142 shares during the period. Prudent Man Advisors LLC’s holdings in Mastercard were worth $1,325,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in MA. Goldstein Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Mastercard by 1.3% during the 3rd quarter. Goldstein Advisors LLC now owns 1,516 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $749,000 after buying an additional 20 shares in the last quarter. McLean Asset Management Corp lifted its holdings in Mastercard by 1.3% in the third quarter. McLean Asset Management Corp now owns 1,677 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $834,000 after acquiring an additional 21 shares during the period. Oldfather Financial Services LLC boosted its position in shares of Mastercard by 2.6% during the 3rd quarter. Oldfather Financial Services LLC now owns 827 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $408,000 after purchasing an additional 21 shares in the last quarter. Transcendent Capital Group LLC grew its stake in shares of Mastercard by 4.8% during the 3rd quarter. Transcendent Capital Group LLC now owns 455 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $225,000 after purchasing an additional 21 shares during the period. Finally, Guerra Pan Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Mastercard by 1.7% in the third quarter. Guerra Pan Advisors LLC now owns 1,225 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $605,000 after purchasing an additional 21 shares during the period. 97.28% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity at Mastercard

In related news, major shareholder Foundation Mastercard sold 90,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $468.80, for a total transaction of $42,192,000.00. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 91,649,308 shares in the company, valued at approximately $42,965,195,590.40. This trade represents a 0.10 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CMO Venkata R. Madabhushi sold 4,685 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, September 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $493.10, for a total value of $2,310,173.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief marketing officer now owns 17,118 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,440,885.80. This represents a 21.49 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 99,370 shares of company stock worth $46,797,168. 0.10% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Mastercard Price Performance

MA stock opened at $521.89 on Monday. The company has a market cap of $479.01 billion, a PE ratio of 39.48, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.28 and a beta of 1.10. The company has a current ratio of 1.29, a quick ratio of 1.29 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.36. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $504.09 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $471.38. Mastercard Incorporated has a 12-month low of $395.55 and a 12-month high of $534.03.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The credit services provider reported $3.89 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.73 by $0.16. Mastercard had a return on equity of 178.27% and a net margin of 45.26%. The business had revenue of $7.37 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $7.27 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $3.39 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 12.8% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts predict that Mastercard Incorporated will post 14.47 EPS for the current year.

Mastercard Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 8th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, October 9th were paid a $0.66 dividend. This represents a $2.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.51%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, October 9th. Mastercard’s dividend payout ratio is presently 19.97%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have weighed in on the stock. Susquehanna upped their target price on shares of Mastercard from $540.00 to $605.00 and gave the stock a “positive” rating in a research report on Friday, November 1st. Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on Mastercard from $544.00 to $564.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday. Piper Sandler reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $575.00 price target (up previously from $565.00) on shares of Mastercard in a research note on Friday. Mizuho increased their price objective on shares of Mastercard from $496.00 to $532.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Finally, Argus raised shares of Mastercard to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Thursday, August 1st. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-one have assigned a buy rating and three have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $549.16.

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.