Ferguson Wellman Capital Management Inc. Has $7.14 Million Stake in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA)

Ferguson Wellman Capital Management Inc. reduced its holdings in shares of Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) by 0.8% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 14,458 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after selling 119 shares during the period. Ferguson Wellman Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in Mastercard were worth $7,139,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Mastercard by 0.4% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 75,584,606 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $36,399,279,000 after buying an additional 330,872 shares in the last quarter. Capital Research Global Investors increased its holdings in Mastercard by 0.3% during the 1st quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 13,651,904 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $6,574,347,000 after purchasing an additional 43,881 shares in the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Mastercard by 120,665.3% during the third quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 8,041,758 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $3,971,020,000 after buying an additional 8,035,099 shares during the last quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. grew its holdings in Mastercard by 1.4% during the second quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 5,082,729 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $2,241,297,000 after buying an additional 71,569 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Canada Pension Plan Investment Board raised its position in Mastercard by 2.7% in the 2nd quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board now owns 4,327,168 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $1,908,973,000 after buying an additional 113,238 shares during the last quarter. 97.28% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Mastercard Trading Down 0.3 %

Shares of Mastercard stock traded down $1.69 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $520.19. 169,005 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,441,875. The company has a market cap of $477.45 billion, a PE ratio of 39.45, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.32 and a beta of 1.10. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $502.32 and a 200-day moving average of $470.24. Mastercard Incorporated has a 12 month low of $394.76 and a 12 month high of $534.03. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.36, a quick ratio of 1.29 and a current ratio of 1.29.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The credit services provider reported $3.89 earnings per share for the quarter, beating 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 firm had revenue of $7.37 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.27 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $3.39 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 12.8% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts expect that Mastercard Incorporated will post 14.45 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Mastercard Announces Dividend

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

MA has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Bank of America upped their target price on shares of Mastercard from $480.00 to $509.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 17th. William Blair raised shares of Mastercard to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 31st. KeyCorp lifted their price objective on shares of Mastercard from $515.00 to $580.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, November 1st. Royal Bank of Canada increased their target price on shares of Mastercard from $500.00 to $526.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 1st. Finally, BNP Paribas downgraded Mastercard from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $470.00 price objective on the stock. in a research note on Tuesday, September 3rd. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty have issued a buy rating and three have assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Mastercard presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $542.88.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CMO Venkata R. Madabhushi sold 4,685 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, September 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $489.86, for a total value of $2,294,994.10. Following the transaction, 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 position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. In related news, CMO Venkata R. Madabhushi sold 4,685 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, September 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $489.86, for a total value 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 approximately $7,363,085.66. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, major shareholder Foundation Mastercard sold 109,000 shares of Mastercard stock in a transaction on Monday, August 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $467.45, for a total value of $50,952,050.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 91,924,308 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $42,970,017,774.60. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 327,370 shares of company stock valued at $153,495,958. 0.10% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.