Patton Albertson Miller Group LLC Cuts Stock Holdings in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA)

Patton Albertson Miller Group LLC lowered its stake in shares of Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA - Free Report) by 19.5% during the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 12,419 shares of the credit services provider's stock after selling 3,002 shares during the quarter. Patton Albertson Miller Group LLC's holdings in Mastercard were worth $6,807,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other large investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Measured Risk Portfolios Inc. purchased a new position in Mastercard in the fourth quarter valued at $31,000. 10Elms LLP acquired a new position in Mastercard in the fourth quarter valued at $33,000. Hughes Financial Services LLC acquired a new position in Mastercard in the first quarter valued at $34,000. Navigoe LLC acquired a new position in Mastercard in the fourth quarter valued at $33,000. Finally, Mpwm Advisory Solutions LLC acquired a new position in Mastercard in the fourth quarter valued at $36,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 97.28% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have issued reports on MA shares. Royal Bank Of Canada restated an "outperform" rating and issued a $650.00 price objective on shares of Mastercard in a research note on Tuesday. Wolfe Research set a $655.00 price objective on shares of Mastercard in a research note on Monday, June 23rd. Macquarie decreased their price objective on shares of Mastercard from $645.00 to $610.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, May 2nd. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Mastercard from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Saturday, June 14th. Finally, Truist Financial decreased their target price on shares of Mastercard from $640.00 to $612.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-four have given a buy rating and three have assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $612.90.

Mastercard Price Performance

MA stock opened at $555.73 on Friday. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $567.61 and a 200-day moving average of $548.26. Mastercard Incorporated has a 12-month low of $428.86 and a 12-month high of $594.71. The company has a current ratio of 1.11, a quick ratio of 1.11 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.81. The company has a market cap of $506.66 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 38.97, a PEG ratio of 2.41 and a beta of 1.02.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 1st. The credit services provider reported $3.73 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $3.57 by $0.16. Mastercard had a net margin of 45.21% and a return on equity of 196.87%. The business had revenue of $7.25 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $7.12 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted $3.31 EPS. The company's revenue was up 14.2% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts expect that Mastercard Incorporated will post 15.91 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Mastercard Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 8th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, July 9th will be paid a dividend of $0.76 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, July 9th. This represents a $3.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.55%. Mastercard's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 21.32%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Mastercard

In other news, insider Linda Pistecchia Kirkpatrick sold 959 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, June 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $572.86, for a total transaction of $549,372.74. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 25,540 shares of the company's stock, valued at $14,630,844.40. This trade represents a 3.62% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider Raj Seshadri sold 1,100 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, June 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $546.77, for a total transaction of $601,447.00. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 12,921 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $7,064,815.17. This trade represents a 7.85% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 38,753 shares of company stock valued at $20,351,084. Company insiders own 0.09% of the company's stock.

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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