Drive Wealth Management LLC Lowers Stock Holdings in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA)

Drive Wealth Management LLC cut its holdings in shares of Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) by 1.5% during the third quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 2,531 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after selling 38 shares during the quarter. Drive Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in Mastercard were worth $1,249,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the business. Highline Wealth Partners LLC purchased a new stake in Mastercard during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $25,000. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL acquired a new position in shares of Mastercard in the second quarter worth $34,000. First Personal Financial Services purchased a new position in Mastercard in the third quarter valued at $39,000. Fairway Wealth LLC acquired a new position in Mastercard during the 2nd quarter worth $35,000. Finally, Lowe Wealth Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Mastercard by 74.0% during the 3rd quarter. Lowe Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 87 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $43,000 after purchasing an additional 37 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 97.28% of the company’s stock.

Mastercard Trading Up 0.3 %

NYSE:MA opened at $521.89 on Monday. 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’s 50 day simple moving average is $504.09 and its 200-day simple moving average is $471.38. Mastercard Incorporated has a 12-month low of $395.55 and a 12-month high of $534.03. The firm has a market cap of $479.01 billion, a P/E ratio of 39.48, a PEG ratio of 2.28 and a beta of 1.10.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA) last released its earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The credit services provider reported $3.89 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.73 by $0.16. Mastercard had a net margin of 45.26% and a return on equity of 178.27%. The company had revenue of $7.37 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $7.27 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $3.39 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 12.8% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts anticipate 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 dividend of $0.66 per share. This represents a $2.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.51%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, October 9th. Mastercard’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 19.97%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on the company. UBS Group boosted their price objective on Mastercard from $590.00 to $610.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday. KeyCorp boosted their price target on shares of Mastercard from $515.00 to $580.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, November 1st. BMO Capital Markets increased their price objective on shares of Mastercard from $550.00 to $565.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday. Barclays lifted their price objective on shares of Mastercard from $536.00 to $576.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 10th. Finally, Citigroup increased their target price on Mastercard from $566.00 to $572.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, November 4th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-one have assigned a buy rating and three have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $549.16.

Insider Activity at Mastercard

In related news, major shareholder Foundation Mastercard sold 90,000 shares of Mastercard stock in a transaction on 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 completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 91,649,308 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $42,965,195,590.40. The trade was a 0.10 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CMO Venkata R. Madabhushi sold 4,685 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, September 13th. The shares were 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. Insiders have sold a total of 99,370 shares of company stock worth $46,797,168 over the last three months. 0.10% of the stock is currently 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.