Farmers & Merchants Investments Inc. Sells 1,712 Shares of Mastercard Incorporated $MA

Key Points

• Farmers & Merchants Investments Inc. reduced its stake in Mastercard by 26.6%, selling 1,712 shares, while maintaining a total of 4,716 shares valued at approximately $2.65 million.
• Mastercard's quarterly earnings exceeded expectations, reporting $4.15 EPS and $8.13 billion in revenue, marking a 16.8% increase year-over-year.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend of $0.76 per share, with an ex-dividend date of October 9th, resulting in an annual yield of 0.5%.

Farmers & Merchants Investments Inc. trimmed its position in shares of Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA - Free Report) by 26.6% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 4,716 shares of the credit services provider's stock after selling 1,712 shares during the period. Farmers & Merchants Investments Inc.'s holdings in Mastercard were worth $2,650,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Ethos Financial Group LLC grew its stake in Mastercard by 19.5% in the 1st quarter. Ethos Financial Group LLC now owns 3,174 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $1,683,000 after acquiring an additional 518 shares in the last quarter. Fortis Advisors LLC grew its stake in Mastercard by 9.4% in the 1st quarter. Fortis Advisors LLC now owns 871 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $477,000 after acquiring an additional 75 shares in the last quarter. Canandaigua National Trust Co of Florida grew its stake 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 worth $380,000 after acquiring an additional 185 shares in the last quarter. Kingswood Wealth Advisors LLC grew its stake 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 worth $3,766,000 after acquiring an additional 1,047 shares in the last quarter. Finally, YHB Investment Advisors Inc. grew its stake 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 worth $2,389,000 after acquiring an additional 86 shares in the last quarter. 97.28% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Mastercard Stock Up 0.1%

MA stock opened at $584.64 on Tuesday. The firm has a market cap of $528.52 billion, a PE ratio of 39.42, 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. The firm's fifty day moving average is $577.86 and its 200 day moving average is $559.42. Mastercard Incorporated has a one year low of $465.59 and a one year high of $601.77.

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

Mastercard Announces Dividend

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on MA shares. UBS Group upped their price target on shares of Mastercard from $660.00 to $670.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, June 3rd. The Goldman Sachs Group reaffirmed a "buy" rating on shares of Mastercard in a research report on Friday, August 1st. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Mastercard from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, July 18th. Wolfe Research set a $655.00 price target on shares of Mastercard in a research report on Monday, June 23rd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on shares of Mastercard from $625.00 to $650.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, August 1st. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-four have assigned a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Buy" and a consensus price target of $630.89.

Insider Activity at Mastercard

In other news, insider Raj Seshadri sold 1,100 shares of Mastercard stock in a transaction dated Friday, June 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $546.77, for a total value of $601,447.00. Following the sale, the insider owned 12,921 shares in the company, valued at $7,064,815.17. This trade represents a 7.85% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, insider Linda Pistecchia Kirkpatrick sold 958 shares of Mastercard stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $560.00, for a total transaction of $536,480.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 23,624 shares in the company, valued at approximately $13,229,440. This trade represents a 3.90% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 37,449 shares of company stock worth $21,974,441 in the last ninety days. 0.09% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.

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