Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) Shares Sold by AMI Asset Management Corp

AMI Asset Management Corp lessened its stake in shares of Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) by 7.1% in the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 83,836 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after selling 6,433 shares during the period. Mastercard accounts for 2.2% of AMI Asset Management Corp’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 23rd largest holding. AMI Asset Management Corp’s holdings in Mastercard were worth $41,398,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Albion Financial Group UT raised its holdings in Mastercard by 4.0% in the 1st quarter. Albion Financial Group UT now owns 866 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $417,000 after acquiring an additional 33 shares during the last quarter. Valley National Advisers Inc. raised its holdings in Mastercard by 8.5% in the 1st quarter. Valley National Advisers Inc. now owns 885 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $426,000 after acquiring an additional 69 shares during the last quarter. First Trust Direct Indexing L.P. raised its holdings in Mastercard by 14.2% in the 1st quarter. First Trust Direct Indexing L.P. now owns 20,552 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $9,897,000 after acquiring an additional 2,556 shares during the last quarter. Tempus Wealth Planning LLC raised its holdings in Mastercard by 8.6% in the 1st quarter. Tempus Wealth Planning LLC now owns 659 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $317,000 after acquiring an additional 52 shares during the last quarter. Finally, ZRC Wealth Management LLC raised its holdings in Mastercard by 67.9% in the 1st quarter. ZRC Wealth Management LLC now owns 220 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $106,000 after acquiring an additional 89 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 97.28% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Mastercard news, CMO Venkata R. Madabhushi sold 4,685 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, September 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $489.86, for a total transaction of $2,294,994.10. Following the sale, the chief marketing officer now directly owns 15,031 shares in the company, valued at $7,363,085.66. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. In other news, major shareholder Foundation Mastercard sold 90,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $468.80, for a total value of $42,192,000.00. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 91,649,308 shares in the company, valued at approximately $42,965,195,590.40. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CMO Venkata R. Madabhushi sold 4,685 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, September 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $489.86, for a total transaction of $2,294,994.10. Following the completion of the sale, the chief marketing officer now owns 15,031 shares in the company, valued at $7,363,085.66. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 340,809 shares of company stock worth $159,610,703 in the last ninety days. 0.10% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have commented on MA. Royal Bank of Canada increased their price objective on shares of Mastercard from $500.00 to $526.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, August 1st. Compass Point began coverage on shares of Mastercard in a report on Wednesday, September 4th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $525.00 price objective for the company. BNP Paribas downgraded shares of Mastercard from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $470.00 price objective for the company. in a report on Tuesday, September 3rd. Argus raised shares of Mastercard to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 1st. Finally, Oppenheimer started coverage on shares of Mastercard in a research note on Tuesday, October 1st. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $591.00 price target for the company. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eighteen have given a buy rating and three have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Mastercard presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $525.68.

Mastercard Stock Performance

NYSE:MA opened at $506.28 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.95, a quick ratio of 1.14 and a current ratio of 1.14. The stock has a market capitalization of $467.72 billion, a P/E ratio of 38.71, a PEG ratio of 2.27 and a beta of 1.10. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $493.40 and a 200 day moving average price of $465.94. Mastercard Incorporated has a fifty-two week low of $364.72 and a fifty-two week high of $518.82.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, July 31st. The credit services provider reported $3.59 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.51 by $0.08. The company had revenue of $6.96 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.85 billion. Mastercard had a net margin of 46.45% and a return on equity of 179.78%. Equities research analysts forecast that Mastercard Incorporated will post 14.32 EPS for the current year.

Mastercard Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 8th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, October 9th will be issued a dividend of $0.66 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, October 9th. This represents a $2.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.52%. Mastercard’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 20.18%.

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.