Townsend Asset Management Corp NC ADV Has $443,000 Stake in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA)

Townsend Asset Management Corp NC ADV reduced its holdings in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) by 5.0% during the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 898 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after selling 47 shares during the quarter. Townsend Asset Management Corp NC ADV’s holdings in Mastercard were worth $443,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also bought and sold shares of MA. McLean Asset Management Corp lifted its holdings in Mastercard by 1.3% during the 3rd quarter. McLean Asset Management Corp now owns 1,677 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $834,000 after buying an additional 21 shares during the period. Hoxton Planning & Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Mastercard by 1.4% in the first quarter. Hoxton Planning & Management LLC now owns 1,637 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $788,000 after acquiring an additional 22 shares during the period. Quilter Plc boosted its holdings in Mastercard by 2.8% in the second quarter. Quilter Plc now owns 801 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $353,000 after acquiring an additional 22 shares during the last quarter. Cornerstone Wealth Management LLC increased its position in Mastercard by 0.5% during the 3rd quarter. Cornerstone Wealth Management LLC now owns 4,351 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $2,148,000 after purchasing an additional 22 shares during the period. Finally, Benin Management CORP raised its holdings in Mastercard by 3.0% during the 1st quarter. Benin Management CORP now owns 794 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $382,000 after purchasing an additional 23 shares during the last quarter. 97.28% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Mastercard Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:MA opened at $515.01 on Tuesday. The company has a current ratio of 1.14, a quick ratio of 1.14 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.95. The stock has a market cap of $478.76 billion, a PE ratio of 40.94, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.22 and a beta of 1.10. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $488.09 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $464.33. Mastercard Incorporated has a 1-year low of $359.77 and a 1-year high of $518.82.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, July 31st. The credit services provider reported $3.59 EPS for the quarter, beating 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 company had revenue of $6.96 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.85 billion. As a group, analysts forecast that Mastercard Incorporated will post 14.3 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Mastercard Dividend Announcement

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

Insider Activity

In related news, CMO Venkata R. Madabhushi sold 4,685 shares of Mastercard stock in a transaction on Friday, September 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $493.10, for a total transaction of $2,310,173.50. Following the sale, the chief marketing officer now directly owns 17,118 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,440,885.80. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. In other news, major shareholder Foundation Mastercard sold 119,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the sale, the insider now owns 92,033,308 shares in the company, valued at $43,113,923,465.68. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CMO Venkata R. Madabhushi sold 4,685 shares of Mastercard stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, September 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $493.10, for a total transaction of $2,310,173.50. Following the completion of the sale, the chief marketing officer now directly owns 17,118 shares in the company, valued at $8,440,885.80. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 340,809 shares of company stock valued at $159,610,703 over the last three months. Corporate insiders own 0.10% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have recently commented on MA. Compass Point began coverage on shares of Mastercard in a research note on Wednesday, September 4th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $525.00 price objective on the stock. Robert W. Baird lifted their price objective on Mastercard from $545.00 to $575.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 16th. TD Cowen boosted their price objective on Mastercard from $532.00 to $533.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 1st. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their target price on Mastercard from $500.00 to $526.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, August 1st. Finally, Barclays increased their price target on Mastercard from $536.00 to $576.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, October 10th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eighteen have given a buy rating and three have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $525.68.

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.