Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) Holdings Cut by WD Rutherford LLC

WD Rutherford LLC decreased its stake in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) by 1.2% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 8,497 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after selling 105 shares during the quarter. Mastercard makes up about 2.1% of WD Rutherford LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 15th biggest position. WD Rutherford LLC’s holdings in Mastercard were worth $4,092,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Altshuler Shaham Ltd acquired a new position in Mastercard in the 4th quarter valued at $26,000. VitalStone Financial LLC grew its stake in Mastercard by 300.0% in the 4th quarter. VitalStone Financial LLC now owns 60 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $26,000 after buying an additional 45 shares during the last quarter. LFA Lugano Financial Advisors SA acquired a new position in Mastercard in the 4th quarter valued at $27,000. Westend Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in Mastercard in the 1st quarter valued at $27,000. Finally, Scarborough Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Mastercard in the 4th quarter valued at $28,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 97.28% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have weighed in on MA. TD Cowen began coverage on shares of Mastercard in a report on Thursday, April 11th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $545.00 price target for the company. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on shares of Mastercard from $490.00 to $530.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 6th. Susquehanna reissued a “positive” rating and issued a $535.00 price target on shares of Mastercard in a report on Wednesday, April 3rd. Piper Sandler started coverage on shares of Mastercard in a report on Monday, May 13th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $531.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Morgan Stanley reduced their price objective on shares of Mastercard from $536.00 to $524.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, May 2nd. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-three have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $496.91.

Mastercard Price Performance

MA traded down $1.59 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $441.16. The company had a trading volume of 4,105,179 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,467,253. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.86, a quick ratio of 1.09 and a current ratio of 1.09. The company has a market capitalization of $410.11 billion, a PE ratio of 35.06, a P/E/G ratio of 1.73 and a beta of 1.09. Mastercard Incorporated has a twelve month low of $359.77 and a twelve month high of $490.00. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $451.50 and its 200-day simple moving average is $452.88.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 1st. The credit services provider reported $3.31 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.22 by $0.09. The firm had revenue of $6.35 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.34 billion. Mastercard had a net margin of 46.09% and a return on equity of 183.70%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 10.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $2.80 EPS. Equities research analysts predict that Mastercard Incorporated will post 14.26 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Mastercard Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 9th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, July 9th will be given a $0.66 dividend. This represents a $2.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.60%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, July 9th. Mastercard’s payout ratio is presently 20.99%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Mastercard

In other news, major shareholder Foundation Mastercard sold 151,000 shares of Mastercard stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $452.55, for a total transaction of $68,335,050.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 95,930,308 shares in the company, valued at approximately $43,413,260,885.40. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. In other news, major shareholder Foundation Mastercard sold 151,000 shares of Mastercard stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $452.55, for a total transaction of $68,335,050.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 95,930,308 shares in the company, valued at approximately $43,413,260,885.40. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider Sandra A. Arkell sold 300 shares of Mastercard stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $454.00, for a total transaction of $136,200.00. Following the sale, the insider now owns 3,463 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,572,202. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 3,163,228 shares of company stock worth $1,428,540,870. 0.10% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.