New Century Financial Group LLC Decreases Stock Holdings in Mastercard Incorporated $MA

Key Points

• New Century Financial Group LLC reduced its position in Mastercard by 48.3%, ending the second quarter with 474 shares valued at $266,000.
• Mastercard's stock has seen a 16.8% year-over-year revenue growth and reported earnings per share of $4.15, surpassing analyst estimates.
• The company will pay a quarterly dividend of $0.76 on November 7th, with an annualized dividend yield of 0.5%.

New Century Financial Group LLC cut its position in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA - Free Report) by 48.3% in the second quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 474 shares of the credit services provider's stock after selling 442 shares during the quarter. New Century Financial Group LLC's holdings in Mastercard were worth $266,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

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

Mastercard Stock Up 0.7%

Shares of MA opened at $577.76 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $522.30 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 38.96, a PEG ratio of 2.35 and a beta of 0.97. Mastercard Incorporated has a 52 week low of $465.59 and a 52 week high of $601.77. The stock's 50-day moving average price is $580.00 and its 200-day moving average price is $561.32. The company has a quick ratio of 1.16, a current ratio of 1.16 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.41.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly 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. The company had revenue of $8.13 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.95 billion. Mastercard had a return on equity of 200.01% and a net margin of 44.93%.Mastercard's revenue for the quarter was up 16.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $3.50 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Mastercard Incorporated will post 15.91 EPS for the current year.

Mastercard Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 7th. Shareholders 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.5%. Mastercard's dividend payout ratio is 20.50%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have issued reports on MA. KeyCorp raised their price target on shares of Mastercard from $635.00 to $660.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, August 1st. Royal Bank Of Canada raised their target price on Mastercard from $650.00 to $656.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, August 1st. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on Mastercard from $625.00 to $650.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, August 1st. Truist Financial cut their price objective on Mastercard from $640.00 to $612.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, July 17th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group restated a "buy" rating on shares of Mastercard in a research note on Friday, June 6th. Two investment 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 company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Mastercard has an average rating of "Buy" and a consensus price target of $630.89.

Insider Transactions at Mastercard

In other Mastercard news, Director Julius Genachowski sold 312 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred 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 of the company's stock, valued at approximately $4,833,004.23. This trade represents a 3.55% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CFO J. Mehra Sachin sold 17,263 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, September 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $591.00, for a total value of $10,202,433.00. Following the transaction, 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 ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 35,391 shares of company stock worth $20,836,514 over the last 90 days. Insiders own 0.09% of the company's stock.

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.

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