CX Institutional Trims Stock Position in Mastercard Incorporated $MA

Key Points

• CX Institutional reduced its stake in Mastercard by **45.6%** during the second quarter, resulting in a holding of **10,396 shares** valued at approximately **$5.84 million**.
• Mastercard announced a quarterly dividend of **$0.76**, payable on **November 7th**, representing a dividend yield of **0.5%**.
• Analysts maintain a consensus rating of **"Buy"** for Mastercard, with a target price averaging **$630.89**, following strong quarterly earnings of **$4.15 EPS** that outperformed estimates.

CX Institutional lessened its position in shares of Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA - Free Report) by 45.6% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 10,396 shares of the credit services provider's stock after selling 8,697 shares during the quarter. CX Institutional's holdings in Mastercard were worth $5,842,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Ethos Financial Group LLC raised its position in shares of Mastercard by 19.5% during the 1st quarter. Ethos Financial Group LLC now owns 3,174 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $1,683,000 after buying an additional 518 shares during the period. Fortis Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Mastercard by 9.4% in the 1st quarter. Fortis Advisors LLC now owns 871 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $477,000 after purchasing an additional 75 shares during the last quarter. Canandaigua National Trust Co of Florida increased its holdings in Mastercard by 36.4% in the 1st quarter. Canandaigua National Trust Co of Florida now owns 693 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $380,000 after purchasing an additional 185 shares during the last quarter. Kingswood Wealth Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Mastercard by 18.0% in the 1st quarter. Kingswood Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 6,870 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $3,766,000 after purchasing an additional 1,047 shares during the last quarter. Finally, YHB Investment Advisors Inc. increased its holdings in Mastercard by 2.1% in the 2nd quarter. YHB Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 4,251 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $2,389,000 after purchasing an additional 86 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 97.28% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

MA has been the subject of several research reports. Royal Bank Of Canada lifted their target price on shares of Mastercard from $650.00 to $656.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday, August 1st. Seaport Res Ptn upgraded shares of Mastercard from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Monday, July 14th. TD Cowen reiterated a "buy" rating and issued a $645.00 target price on shares of Mastercard in a report on Monday, August 11th. Truist Financial dropped their target price on shares of Mastercard from $640.00 to $612.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, July 17th. Finally, Wolfe Research set a $655.00 target price on shares of Mastercard in a report on Monday, June 23rd. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-four have assigned a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and a consensus target price of $630.89.

Insider Activity

In other news, CFO J. Mehra Sachin sold 17,263 shares of Mastercard stock in a transaction on Tuesday, September 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $591.00, for a total transaction of $10,202,433.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 31,234 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $18,459,294. The trade was a 35.60% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider Linda Pistecchia Kirkpatrick sold 958 shares of Mastercard stock in a transaction on Monday, June 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $560.00, for a total transaction of $536,480.00. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 23,624 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $13,229,440. This trade represents a 3.90% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 38,717 shares of company stock valued at $22,684,831 in the last 90 days. Company insiders own 0.09% of the company's stock.

Mastercard Stock Down 0.4%

Shares of NYSE:MA traded down $2.17 during trading on Friday, hitting $583.88. The company's stock had a trading volume of 6,744,713 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,280,804. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $577.23 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $559.09. The company has a market capitalization of $527.83 billion, a PE ratio of 39.37, a P/E/G ratio of 2.39 and a beta of 0.99. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.41, a quick ratio of 1.16 and a current ratio of 1.16. 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 posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 31st. The credit services provider reported $4.15 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $4.05 by $0.10. The business had revenue of $8.13 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.95 billion. Mastercard had a net margin of 44.93% and a return on equity of 200.01%. The company's quarterly revenue was up 16.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $3.50 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts expect that Mastercard Incorporated will post 15.91 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Mastercard Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 7th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, October 9th will be given a dividend of $0.76 per share. This represents a $3.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.5%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, October 9th. Mastercard's payout ratio is 20.50%.

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.