Cypress Capital Group Reduces Holdings in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA)

Cypress Capital Group cut its holdings in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) by 3.0% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 19,907 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after selling 621 shares during the period. Mastercard accounts for 1.1% of Cypress Capital Group’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 20th biggest position. Cypress Capital Group’s holdings in Mastercard were worth $9,830,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of MA. Highline Wealth Partners LLC bought a new position in shares of Mastercard in the third quarter worth $25,000. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL purchased a new position in shares of Mastercard during the 2nd quarter valued at about $34,000. First Personal Financial Services purchased a new stake in Mastercard in the third quarter worth approximately $39,000. Fairway Wealth LLC bought a new position in shares of Mastercard during the 2nd quarter valued at $35,000. Finally, Lowe Wealth Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Mastercard by 74.0% during the third quarter. Lowe Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 87 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $43,000 after buying an additional 37 shares during the last quarter. 97.28% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Mastercard

In other Mastercard news, CMO Venkata R. Madabhushi sold 4,685 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, September 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $489.86, for a total value of $2,294,994.10. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief marketing officer now directly owns 15,031 shares in the company, valued at $7,363,085.66. This represents a 23.76 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. 0.10% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Mastercard Stock Performance

MA opened at $512.54 on Thursday. Mastercard Incorporated has a 12-month low of $404.32 and a 12-month high of $534.03. The company has a market cap of $470.42 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 38.77, a PEG ratio of 2.31 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 company’s 50 day moving average is $505.90 and its 200 day moving average is $472.76.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 31st. The credit services provider reported $3.89 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.73 by $0.16. The firm had revenue of $7.37 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.27 billion. Mastercard had a net margin of 45.26% and a return on equity of 178.27%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 12.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $3.39 EPS. On average, equities research analysts predict that Mastercard Incorporated will post 14.47 EPS for the current year.

Mastercard Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed 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 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.52%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, October 9th. Mastercard’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 19.97%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on MA shares. Bank of America increased their price objective on Mastercard from $480.00 to $509.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 17th. Barclays raised their target price on Mastercard from $536.00 to $576.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 10th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft boosted their price objective on shares of Mastercard from $510.00 to $580.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, November 1st. Morgan Stanley increased their target price on Mastercard from $544.00 to $564.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 14th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets upped their price target on Mastercard from $550.00 to $565.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 14th. Four research 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. Based on data from MarketBeat, Mastercard currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $549.16.

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.