ST. Nicholas Private Asset Management Inc. Has $9.71 Million Stock Holdings in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA)

Key Points

• ST. Nicholas Private Asset Management Inc. sold 872 shares of Mastercard (NYSE: MA), reducing its holdings by 4.7%, while the stock remains its second largest holding worth approximately $9.7 million.
• Multiple analysts maintain a "buy" rating on Mastercard, with price targets ranging from $550 to $660, reflecting a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target of $615.33.
• Mastercard recently announced a quarterly dividend of $0.76 per share, with a dividend payout ratio currently at 20.50%, demonstrating continued financial strength.

ST. Nicholas Private Asset Management Inc. trimmed its position in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA - Free Report) by 4.7% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 17,721 shares of the credit services provider's stock after selling 872 shares during the quarter. Mastercard makes up 9.2% of ST. Nicholas Private Asset Management Inc.'s portfolio, making the stock its 2nd biggest position. ST. Nicholas Private Asset Management Inc.'s holdings in Mastercard were worth $9,713,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Measured Risk Portfolios Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Mastercard in the 4th quarter valued at about $31,000. Navigoe LLC bought a new stake in shares of Mastercard in the 4th quarter valued at about $33,000. 10Elms LLP bought a new stake in shares of Mastercard in the 4th quarter valued at about $33,000. Hughes Financial Services LLC bought a new stake in shares of Mastercard in the 1st quarter valued at about $34,000. Finally, Mpwm Advisory Solutions LLC bought a new stake in shares of Mastercard in the 4th quarter valued at about $36,000. 97.28% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

MA has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Seaport Res Ptn upgraded Mastercard from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Monday, July 14th. Macquarie decreased their price objective on Mastercard from $645.00 to $610.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, May 2nd. Truist Financial decreased their price objective on Mastercard from $640.00 to $612.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, July 17th. Wolfe Research set a $655.00 price objective on Mastercard in a research report on Monday, June 23rd. Finally, Citigroup boosted their price objective on Mastercard from $650.00 to $652.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, May 5th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-five have assigned a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $615.33.

Insider Transactions at Mastercard

In other news, 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 transaction 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 represents a 3.55% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, insider Raj Seshadri sold 1,100 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, June 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $546.77, for a total value of $601,447.00. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 12,921 shares in the company, 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 90 days, insiders sold 38,603 shares of company stock valued at $20,265,667. Corporate insiders own 0.09% of the company's stock.

Mastercard Stock Performance

NYSE MA traded up $13.20 on Friday, reaching $574.42. The stock had a trading volume of 2,907,568 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,618,541. 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 firm has a fifty day moving average of $563.90 and a two-hundred day moving average of $553.43. Mastercard Incorporated has a 1-year low of $453.46 and a 1-year high of $594.71. The company has a market cap of $523.70 billion, a P/E ratio of 38.73, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.36 and a beta of 1.03.

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

Mastercard Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 8th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, July 9th were issued a $0.76 dividend. This represents a $3.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.5%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, July 9th. Mastercard's dividend payout ratio is currently 20.50%.

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.