Commonwealth Financial Services LLC Sells 30 Shares of Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA)

Commonwealth Financial Services LLC lowered its position in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) by 2.8% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 1,038 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after selling 30 shares during the period. Commonwealth Financial Services LLC’s holdings in Mastercard were worth $515,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in shares of Mastercard by 0.4% during the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 75,584,606 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $36,399,279,000 after purchasing an additional 330,872 shares during the last quarter. Capital Research Global Investors increased its holdings in Mastercard by 0.3% during the first quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 13,651,904 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $6,574,347,000 after buying an additional 43,881 shares during the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC grew its position in shares of Mastercard by 120,665.3% during the 3rd quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 8,041,758 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $3,971,020,000 after acquiring an additional 8,035,099 shares during the period. Ameriprise Financial Inc. grew its position in shares of Mastercard by 1.4% during the 2nd quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 5,082,729 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $2,241,297,000 after acquiring an additional 71,569 shares during the period. Finally, Canada Pension Plan Investment Board raised its holdings in Mastercard by 2.7% in the 2nd quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board now owns 4,327,168 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $1,908,973,000 after purchasing an additional 113,238 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 97.28% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

MA has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. BMO Capital Markets reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $520.00 price objective on shares of Mastercard in a research report on Wednesday, August 14th. Oppenheimer assumed coverage on shares of Mastercard in a report on Tuesday, October 1st. They set an “outperform” rating and a $591.00 price target on the stock. Susquehanna increased their price objective on shares of Mastercard from $535.00 to $540.00 and gave the stock a “positive” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 1st. Compass Point assumed coverage on shares of Mastercard in a research note on Wednesday, September 4th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $525.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Argus upgraded Mastercard to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 1st. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eighteen have assigned a buy rating and three have issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Mastercard has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $525.68.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, major shareholder Foundation Mastercard sold 119,000 shares of the 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 of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $43,113,923,465.68. This 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 related news, CFO J. Mehra Sachin sold 13,439 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $455.00, for a total transaction of $6,114,745.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 27,304 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $12,423,320. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, 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 transaction, the insider now owns 92,033,308 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $43,113,923,465.68. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 340,809 shares of company stock valued at $159,610,703 over the last three months. 0.10% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Mastercard Price Performance

MA traded down $1.33 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $512.40. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 179,579 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,424,643. The company has a current ratio of 1.14, a quick ratio of 1.14 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.95. Mastercard Incorporated has a 12 month low of $359.77 and a 12 month high of $518.82. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $490.23 and its 200-day moving average price is $464.93. The stock has a market cap of $476.33 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 40.84, a P/E/G ratio of 2.22 and a beta of 1.10.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 31st. The credit services provider reported $3.59 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.51 by $0.08. The business had revenue of $6.96 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.85 billion. Mastercard had a return on equity of 179.78% and a net margin of 46.45%. Sell-side analysts expect that Mastercard Incorporated will post 14.3 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Mastercard Dividend Announcement

The business 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. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, October 9th. This represents a $2.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.52%. Mastercard’s dividend payout ratio is presently 20.99%.

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.