IQ EQ FUND MANAGEMENT IRELAND Ltd Lowers Stock Holdings in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA)

IQ EQ FUND MANAGEMENT IRELAND Ltd reduced its stake in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) by 20.7% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 984 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after selling 257 shares during the quarter. IQ EQ FUND MANAGEMENT IRELAND Ltd’s holdings in Mastercard were worth $434,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of MA. International Assets Investment Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Mastercard by 2.1% in the 4th quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 6,885 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $2,937,000 after buying an additional 141 shares during the period. Patrick M Sweeney & Associates Inc. acquired a new position in Mastercard during the fourth quarter worth $451,000. Gilbert & Cook Inc. raised its holdings in Mastercard by 8.3% during the fourth quarter. Gilbert & Cook Inc. now owns 3,134 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $1,337,000 after purchasing an additional 241 shares during the last quarter. Mather Group LLC. raised its holdings in Mastercard by 7.6% during the fourth quarter. Mather Group LLC. now owns 11,417 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $4,869,000 after purchasing an additional 806 shares during the last quarter. Finally, McAdam LLC raised its holdings in Mastercard by 6.1% during the fourth quarter. McAdam LLC now owns 769 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $328,000 after purchasing an additional 44 shares during the last quarter. 97.28% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

MA has been the subject of several research reports. BNP Paribas raised Mastercard to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Thursday, July 25th. TD Cowen raised their price target on Mastercard from $532.00 to $533.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 1st. Royal Bank of Canada raised their price target on Mastercard from $500.00 to $526.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 1st. Mizuho dropped their price target on Mastercard from $480.00 to $478.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, May 2nd. Finally, Bank of America downgraded Mastercard from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and dropped their price target for the stock from $505.00 to $480.00 in a research report on Wednesday, July 10th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-one have assigned a buy rating and four have given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Mastercard presently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $512.09.

Mastercard Stock Up 0.1 %

NYSE MA traded up $0.25 on Friday, hitting $481.05. 853,776 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,439,143. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $452.07 and a 200 day moving average of $458.79. Mastercard Incorporated has a twelve month low of $359.77 and a twelve month high of $490.00. The company has a market capitalization of $447.19 billion, a P/E ratio of 38.35, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.82 and a beta of 1.09. The company has a current ratio of 1.14, a quick ratio of 1.09 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.95.

Mastercard Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 9th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, July 9th were paid a dividend of $0.66 per share. This represents a $2.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.55%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, July 9th. Mastercard’s payout ratio is currently 20.99%.

Insider Activity

In other news, major shareholder Foundation Mastercard sold 90,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 $42,965,195,590.40. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In related news, major shareholder Foundation Mastercard sold 90,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 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 sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider Craig Vosburg sold 9,028 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, June 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $447.28, for a total value of $4,038,043.84. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 58,940 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $26,362,683.20. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 1,516,959 shares of company stock valued at $686,890,426. 0.10% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.