Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC Sells 1,062 Shares of Mastercard Incorporated $MA

Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC lowered its holdings in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA - Free Report) by 10.6% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 8,986 shares of the credit services provider's stock after selling 1,062 shares during the period. Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC's holdings in Mastercard were worth $4,925,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Accredited Investors Inc. increased its position in shares of Mastercard by 2.6% in the first quarter. Accredited Investors Inc. now owns 718 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $394,000 after acquiring an additional 18 shares during the last quarter. Wealthstream Advisors Inc. increased its position in shares of Mastercard by 2.9% during the 1st quarter. Wealthstream Advisors Inc. now owns 632 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $347,000 after purchasing an additional 18 shares during the last quarter. Phillips Wealth Planners LLC raised its stake in shares of Mastercard by 1.8% during the 1st quarter. Phillips Wealth Planners LLC now owns 1,055 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $538,000 after purchasing an additional 19 shares in the last quarter. Alta Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Mastercard by 3.6% in the 1st quarter. Alta Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 540 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $296,000 after buying an additional 19 shares during the last quarter. Finally, May Hill Capital LLC grew its stake in shares of Mastercard by 2.0% in the first quarter. May Hill Capital LLC now owns 986 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $540,000 after buying an additional 19 shares in the last quarter. 97.28% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Mastercard Stock Up 0.6%

MA stock opened at $587.49 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.41, a current ratio of 1.16 and a quick ratio of 1.16. The stock has a market capitalization of $531.10 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 39.62, a PEG ratio of 2.40 and a beta of 0.99. The business's fifty day moving average price is $573.10 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $557.69. Mastercard Incorporated has a fifty-two week low of $465.59 and a fifty-two week high of $601.77.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, July 31st. The credit services provider reported $4.15 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $4.05 by $0.10. Mastercard had a net margin of 44.93% and a return on equity of 200.01%. The company had revenue of $8.13 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $7.95 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $3.50 earnings per share. Mastercard's quarterly revenue was up 16.8% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Mastercard Incorporated will post 15.91 earnings per share for the current year.

Mastercard Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 8th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, July 9th were issued a dividend of $0.76 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, July 9th. This represents a $3.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.5%. Mastercard's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 20.50%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Craig Vosburg sold 9,428 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, June 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $353.05, for a total value of $3,328,555.40. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 58,451 shares in the company, valued at approximately $20,636,125.55. The trade was a 13.89% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Julius Genachowski sold 312 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, July 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $570.67, for a total value of $178,049.04. Following the sale, the director directly owned 8,469 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,833,004.23. This trade represents a 3.55% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 59,481 shares of company stock valued at $32,616,595 in the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 0.09% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have recently commented on the stock. UBS Group lifted their price objective on shares of Mastercard from $660.00 to $670.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, June 3rd. Wolfe Research set a $655.00 target price on shares of Mastercard in a research note on Monday, June 23rd. KeyCorp boosted their price target on Mastercard from $635.00 to $660.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, August 1st. Jefferies Financial Group restated a "buy" rating on shares of Mastercard in a research note on Friday, June 6th. Finally, Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on Mastercard from $639.00 to $661.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, August 1st. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-four have given a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Mastercard currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $626.54.

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.

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