Argus Investors Counsel Inc. Sells 78 Shares of Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA)

Argus Investors Counsel Inc. cut its stake in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) by 3.5% in the third quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 2,128 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after selling 78 shares during the period. Argus Investors Counsel Inc.’s holdings in Mastercard were worth $1,051,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Maple Capital Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of Mastercard by 2.3% in the third quarter. Maple Capital Management Inc. now owns 76,056 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $37,556,000 after acquiring an additional 1,685 shares during the period. Foundations Investment Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Mastercard by 12.5% in the third quarter. Foundations Investment Advisors LLC now owns 25,422 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $12,553,000 after acquiring an additional 2,816 shares during the period. Roof Eidam Maycock Peralta LLC grew its stake in shares of Mastercard by 1.1% in the third quarter. Roof Eidam Maycock Peralta LLC now owns 4,451 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $2,198,000 after acquiring an additional 50 shares during the period. Raleigh Capital Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of Mastercard by 5.8% in the third quarter. Raleigh Capital Management Inc. now owns 563 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $278,000 after acquiring an additional 31 shares during the period. Finally, Evernest Financial Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Mastercard by 1.4% in the third quarter. Evernest Financial Advisors LLC now owns 3,589 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $1,772,000 after acquiring an additional 51 shares during the period. 97.28% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Mastercard Price Performance

Shares of MA stock traded down $2.17 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, hitting $512.84. The company had a trading volume of 557,562 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,432,542. Mastercard Incorporated has a 52-week low of $359.77 and a 52-week high of $518.82. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $488.09 and its 200-day moving average price is $464.33. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.95, a current ratio of 1.14 and a quick ratio of 1.14. The company has a market capitalization of $476.74 billion, a P/E ratio of 40.59, a P/E/G ratio of 2.22 and a beta of 1.10.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, July 31st. The credit services provider reported $3.59 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.51 by $0.08. Mastercard had a net margin of 46.45% and a return on equity of 179.78%. The firm had revenue of $6.96 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.85 billion. Equities research analysts forecast that Mastercard Incorporated will post 14.3 earnings per share for the current year.

Mastercard Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 8th. Investors of record on Wednesday, October 9th will be given a $0.66 dividend. This represents a $2.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.51%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, October 9th. Mastercard’s dividend payout ratio is presently 20.99%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, major shareholder Foundation Mastercard sold 119,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, August 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $468.46, for a total value of $55,746,740.00. Following the sale, the insider now owns 92,033,308 shares in the company, valued at approximately $43,113,923,465.68. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other Mastercard news, major shareholder Foundation Mastercard sold 119,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, August 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $468.46, for a total transaction of $55,746,740.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 92,033,308 shares in the company, valued at $43,113,923,465.68. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, CFO J. Mehra Sachin sold 13,439 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, August 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $455.00, for a total transaction of $6,114,745.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 27,304 shares in the company, valued at $12,423,320. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 340,809 shares of company stock worth $159,610,703. Insiders own 0.10% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

MA has been the topic of a number of research reports. Evercore ISI dropped their price objective on shares of Mastercard from $540.00 to $525.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, June 25th. Susquehanna raised their price objective on shares of Mastercard from $535.00 to $540.00 and gave the stock a “positive” rating in a report on Thursday, August 1st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on shares of Mastercard from $570.00 to $593.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday. Piper Sandler raised their price objective on shares of Mastercard from $531.00 to $536.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, August 2nd. Finally, Citigroup raised their price objective on shares of Mastercard from $528.00 to $538.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, August 1st. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eighteen have assigned a buy rating and three have given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $525.68.

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.