Hantz Financial Services Inc. Sells 4,424 Shares of Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA)

Hantz Financial Services Inc. lessened its position in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) by 4.9% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 86,017 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after selling 4,424 shares during the quarter. Mastercard accounts for approximately 0.8% of Hantz Financial Services Inc.’s portfolio, making the stock its 24th largest holding. Hantz Financial Services Inc.’s holdings in Mastercard were worth $42,475,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in MA. International Assets Investment Management LLC lifted its stake in Mastercard by 120,665.3% in the third quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 8,041,758 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $3,971,020,000 after purchasing an additional 8,035,099 shares during the last quarter. Bank of Montreal Can lifted its stake in shares of Mastercard by 51.7% in the 3rd quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 5,765,714 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $2,846,187,000 after acquiring an additional 1,965,782 shares during the last quarter. PineStone Asset Management Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Mastercard by 145.6% in the 2nd quarter. PineStone Asset Management Inc. now owns 1,777,468 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $784,148,000 after acquiring an additional 1,053,616 shares during the last quarter. FMR LLC boosted its holdings in Mastercard by 3.4% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 21,355,081 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $10,545,139,000 after acquiring an additional 700,769 shares during the period. Finally, Manning & Napier Advisors LLC bought a new position in Mastercard during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $259,071,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 97.28% of the company’s stock.

Mastercard Stock Up 0.7 %

NYSE:MA traded up $3.90 during trading hours on Thursday, reaching $532.38. 2,086,434 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,465,729. The company has a current ratio of 1.29, a quick ratio of 1.29 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.36. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $508.78 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $475.23. Mastercard Incorporated has a 1 year low of $404.32 and a 1 year high of $534.03. The stock has a market capitalization of $488.63 billion, a P/E ratio of 40.26, a P/E/G ratio of 2.34 and a beta of 1.10.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The credit services provider reported $3.89 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.73 by $0.16. Mastercard had a return on equity of 178.27% and a net margin of 45.26%. The firm had revenue of $7.37 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.27 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $3.39 EPS. Mastercard’s quarterly revenue was up 12.8% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts predict that Mastercard Incorporated will post 14.47 earnings per share for the current year.

Mastercard Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 8th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, October 9th were issued a dividend of $0.66 per share. This represents a $2.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.50%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, October 9th. Mastercard’s payout ratio is 19.97%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on MA shares. Piper Sandler reissued an “overweight” rating and set a $575.00 price objective (up previously from $565.00) on shares of Mastercard in a research note on Friday, November 15th. BNP Paribas cut shares of Mastercard from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $470.00 price target for the company. in a research report on Tuesday, September 3rd. Royal Bank of Canada restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $572.00 price objective on shares of Mastercard in a research report on Thursday, November 14th. TD Cowen increased their target price on shares of Mastercard from $533.00 to $567.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, November 15th. Finally, Robert W. Baird boosted their price target on Mastercard from $545.00 to $575.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 16th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-two have assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $549.16.

Insider Activity at Mastercard

In other news, CMO Venkata R. Madabhushi sold 4,685 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, September 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $489.86, for a total transaction of $2,294,994.10. Following the transaction, the chief marketing officer now directly owns 15,031 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,363,085.66. This represents a 23.76 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. 0.10% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.