Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) Stake Trimmed by Ithaka Group LLC

Ithaka Group LLC trimmed its stake in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) by 2.7% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 65,473 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after selling 1,818 shares during the quarter. Mastercard makes up 6.1% of Ithaka Group LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 5th biggest position. Ithaka Group LLC’s holdings in Mastercard were worth $32,331,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Biltmore Family Office LLC lifted its stake in shares of Mastercard by 1.0% during the 3rd quarter. Biltmore Family Office LLC now owns 2,894 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $1,429,000 after buying an additional 30 shares in the last quarter. Raymond James Trust N.A. lifted its stake in shares of Mastercard by 0.4% during the 3rd quarter. Raymond James Trust N.A. now owns 18,875 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $9,320,000 after buying an additional 83 shares in the last quarter. AlphaCore Capital LLC lifted its stake in shares of Mastercard by 64.8% during the 3rd quarter. AlphaCore Capital LLC now owns 1,312 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $648,000 after buying an additional 516 shares in the last quarter. 49 Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Mastercard during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $231,000. Finally, Eagle Asset Management Inc. increased its holdings in Mastercard by 10.7% during the 3rd quarter. Eagle Asset Management Inc. now owns 38,330 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $20,114,000 after acquiring an additional 3,702 shares during the period. 97.28% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Mastercard

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts recently weighed in on the stock. KeyCorp upped their target price on shares of Mastercard from $515.00 to $580.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, November 1st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their target price on shares of Mastercard from $593.00 to $580.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, November 1st. Argus raised shares of Mastercard to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Thursday, August 1st. Oppenheimer initiated coverage on shares of Mastercard in a report on Tuesday, October 1st. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $591.00 price target on the stock. Finally, William Blair raised shares of Mastercard to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 31st. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-one have assigned a buy rating and three have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $549.16.

Mastercard Trading Up 0.5 %

Shares of MA opened at $515.10 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $472.77 billion, a P/E ratio of 38.96, a PEG ratio of 2.31 and a beta of 1.10. The company has a quick ratio of 1.29, a current ratio of 1.29 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.36. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $506.36 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $473.05. Mastercard Incorporated has a twelve month low of $404.32 and a twelve month high of $534.03.

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

Mastercard Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 8th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, October 9th were given a $0.66 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, October 9th. This represents a $2.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.51%. Mastercard’s dividend payout ratio is 19.97%.

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.