WestEnd Advisors LLC Sells 446 Shares of Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA)

WestEnd Advisors LLC decreased its holdings in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) by 0.5% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 88,811 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after selling 446 shares during the period. Mastercard accounts for about 1.1% of WestEnd Advisors LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 26th biggest position. WestEnd Advisors LLC’s holdings in Mastercard were worth $43,855,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the business. Highline Wealth Partners LLC bought a new stake in Mastercard during the third quarter valued at $25,000. Palisade Asset Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Mastercard during the first quarter worth about $27,000. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL purchased a new position in shares of Mastercard during the second quarter worth about $34,000. Fairway Wealth LLC bought a new position in shares of Mastercard during the second quarter valued at about $35,000. Finally, Lowe Wealth Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Mastercard by 74.0% in the third quarter. Lowe Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 87 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $43,000 after buying an additional 37 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 97.28% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Mastercard

In other news, CFO J. Mehra Sachin sold 13,439 shares of the company’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 transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 27,304 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $12,423,320. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. In other news, CFO J. Mehra Sachin sold 13,439 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $455.00, for a total transaction of $6,114,745.00. Following the transaction, 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 ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, major shareholder Foundation Mastercard sold 109,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $467.45, for a total transaction of $50,952,050.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 91,924,308 shares in the company, valued at $42,970,017,774.60. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 340,809 shares of company stock worth $159,610,703. Insiders own 0.10% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on MA shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on Mastercard from $570.00 to $593.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, October 21st. Robert W. Baird lifted their target price on shares of Mastercard from $545.00 to $575.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 16th. Oppenheimer initiated coverage on shares of Mastercard in a report on Tuesday, October 1st. They set an “outperform” rating and a $591.00 price target for the company. Argus upgraded shares of Mastercard to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 1st. Finally, BNP Paribas lowered shares of Mastercard from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $470.00 target price for the company. in a report on Tuesday, September 3rd. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eighteen have issued a buy rating and three have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $525.68.

Mastercard Stock Performance

NYSE MA traded up $5.80 on Wednesday, reaching $512.08. 229,653 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,415,590. 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 one year low of $373.11 and a one year high of $518.82. The firm has a market capitalization of $473.08 billion, a PE ratio of 38.71, a PEG ratio of 2.27 and a beta of 1.10. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $493.40 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $465.94.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, July 31st. The credit services provider reported $3.59 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.51 by $0.08. The company had revenue of $6.96 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.85 billion. Mastercard had a net margin of 46.45% and a return on equity of 179.78%. Analysts expect that Mastercard Incorporated will post 14.32 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Mastercard Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 8th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, October 9th will be issued a dividend of $0.66 per share. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, October 9th. This represents a $2.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.52%. Mastercard’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 20.18%.

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.