Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) Shares Sold by Cynosure Group LLC

Cynosure Group LLC trimmed its position in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) by 47.1% during the third quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 1,483 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after selling 1,322 shares during the period. Cynosure Group LLC’s holdings in Mastercard were worth $732,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Hardy Reed LLC grew its position in Mastercard by 1.3% during the third quarter. Hardy Reed LLC now owns 4,992 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $2,465,000 after acquiring an additional 64 shares during the period. J. Stern & Co. LLP grew its stake in Mastercard by 5.0% during the 3rd quarter. J. Stern & Co. LLP now owns 115,002 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $56,788,000 after purchasing an additional 5,447 shares in the last quarter. Principal Street Partners LLC increased its stake in shares of Mastercard by 12.4% in the third quarter. Principal Street Partners LLC now owns 3,601 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $1,669,000 after buying an additional 398 shares during the last quarter. Avestar Capital LLC increased its position in shares of Mastercard by 2.2% in the 3rd quarter. Avestar Capital LLC now owns 5,062 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $2,500,000 after purchasing an additional 110 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Brooklyn Investment Group raised its stake in Mastercard by 4.8% during the third quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group now owns 6,105 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $3,015,000 after buying an additional 277 shares in the last quarter. 97.28% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other Mastercard news, CMO Venkata R. Madabhushi sold 4,685 shares of Mastercard stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, September 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $493.10, for a total transaction of $2,310,173.50. Following the transaction, the chief marketing officer now directly owns 17,118 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,440,885.80. The trade was a 21.49 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 0.10% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Mastercard Price Performance

NYSE:MA opened at $528.48 on Wednesday. Mastercard Incorporated has a 52-week low of $404.32 and a 52-week high of $534.03. 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 market cap of $485.05 billion, a P/E ratio of 39.98, a PEG ratio of 2.34 and a beta of 1.10. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $508.03 and its 200 day moving average price is $474.83.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The credit services provider reported $3.89 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.73 by $0.16. The firm 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 period last year, the firm posted $3.39 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Mastercard Incorporated will post 14.47 earnings per share for the current fiscal 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 issued a dividend of $0.66 per share. This represents a $2.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.50%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, October 9th. Mastercard’s dividend payout ratio is 19.97%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Robert W. Baird boosted their price target on Mastercard from $545.00 to $575.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 16th. KeyCorp raised their price target on shares of Mastercard from $515.00 to $580.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, November 1st. Barclays increased their price objective on shares of Mastercard from $536.00 to $576.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 10th. Oppenheimer initiated coverage on Mastercard in a report on Tuesday, October 1st. They set an “outperform” rating and a $591.00 target price for the company. Finally, Piper Sandler restated an “overweight” rating and set a $575.00 price objective (up previously from $565.00) on shares of Mastercard in a research report on Friday, November 15th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-two have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Mastercard presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $549.16.

Mastercard 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.