Belmont Capital LLC Trims Stock Holdings in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA)

Belmont Capital LLC reduced its holdings in shares of Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) by 12.8% during the third quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 700 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after selling 103 shares during the quarter. Belmont Capital LLC’s holdings in Mastercard were worth $346,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Caprock Group LLC grew its holdings in Mastercard by 2.2% during the 3rd quarter. Caprock Group LLC now owns 25,632 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $12,658,000 after buying an additional 543 shares in the last quarter. Pathstone Holdings LLC increased its holdings in Mastercard by 2.7% during the 3rd quarter. Pathstone Holdings LLC now owns 150,244 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $74,190,000 after acquiring an additional 3,913 shares during the period. St. Louis Trust Co purchased a new stake in Mastercard in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $202,000. Aviance Capital Partners LLC boosted its holdings in Mastercard by 0.5% in the 3rd quarter. Aviance Capital Partners LLC now owns 10,227 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $5,050,000 after purchasing an additional 50 shares during the period. Finally, Baron Wealth Management LLC grew its position in shares of Mastercard by 42.8% during the 3rd quarter. Baron Wealth Management LLC now owns 938 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $463,000 after purchasing an additional 281 shares in the last quarter. 97.28% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Mastercard Stock Performance

Shares of MA stock opened at $521.63 on Tuesday. 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 company’s fifty day moving average price is $504.78 and its 200-day moving average price is $471.95. The stock has a market cap of $478.77 billion, a PE ratio of 39.46, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.32 and a beta of 1.10. Mastercard Incorporated has a 12 month low of $398.26 and a 12 month high of $534.03.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 31st. The credit services provider reported $3.89 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.73 by $0.16. Mastercard had a net margin of 45.26% and a return on equity of 178.27%. The business had revenue of $7.37 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $7.27 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $3.39 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 12.8% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts expect that Mastercard Incorporated will post 14.47 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Mastercard Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 8th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, October 9th were issued a $0.66 dividend. This represents a $2.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.51%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, October 9th. Mastercard’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 19.97%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on the company. KeyCorp lifted their price objective on Mastercard from $515.00 to $580.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Mizuho boosted their price objective on Mastercard from $496.00 to $532.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, November 1st. Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on shares of Mastercard from $544.00 to $564.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 14th. Citigroup lifted their price objective on shares of Mastercard from $566.00 to $572.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, November 4th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price objective on Mastercard from $593.00 to $580.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, November 1st. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-one have given a buy rating and three have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $549.16.

Insider Transactions at Mastercard

In related news, CMO Venkata R. Madabhushi sold 4,685 shares of the firm’s 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 completion of the sale, the chief marketing officer now owns 15,031 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,363,085.66. This trade represents a 23.76 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, major shareholder Foundation Mastercard sold 90,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 91,649,308 shares in the company, valued at $42,965,195,590.40. This trade represents a 0.10 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 99,370 shares of company stock valued at $46,797,168. Insiders own 0.10% 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.