Global Strategic Investment Solutions LLC Reduces Stock Position in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA)

Global Strategic Investment Solutions LLC decreased its holdings in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) by 5.0% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 493 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after selling 26 shares during the period. Global Strategic Investment Solutions LLC’s holdings in Mastercard were worth $243,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Highline Wealth Partners LLC purchased a new stake in Mastercard during the 3rd quarter valued at $25,000. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL purchased a new position in shares of Mastercard during the second quarter valued at approximately $34,000. Fairway Wealth LLC bought a new position in shares of Mastercard during the second quarter valued at approximately $35,000. Lowe Wealth Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Mastercard by 74.0% in the third quarter. Lowe Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 87 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $43,000 after buying an additional 37 shares during the period. Finally, VitalStone Financial LLC lifted its stake in shares of Mastercard by 55.0% during the 1st quarter. VitalStone Financial LLC now owns 93 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $45,000 after acquiring an additional 33 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 97.28% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have commented on MA. Susquehanna upped their price objective on Mastercard from $540.00 to $605.00 and gave the company a “positive” rating in a research report on Friday, November 1st. Barclays lifted their price objective on shares of Mastercard from $536.00 to $576.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, October 10th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their target price on shares of Mastercard from $593.00 to $580.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on Mastercard from $540.00 to $544.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price objective on Mastercard from $500.00 to $526.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, August 1st. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty have assigned a buy rating and three have assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $540.17.

Mastercard Stock Performance

Mastercard stock traded down $1.68 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $519.45. 348,434 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,443,344. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $498.11 and its two-hundred day moving average is $468.02. The company has a market capitalization of $479.89 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 39.42, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.21 and a beta of 1.10. Mastercard Incorporated has a fifty-two week low of $386.74 and a fifty-two week high of $527.90. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.36, a current ratio of 1.29 and a quick ratio of 1.29.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA) last released its earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The credit services provider reported $3.89 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.73 by $0.16. The firm had revenue of $7.37 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.27 billion. Mastercard had a return on equity of 178.27% and a net margin of 45.26%. The firm’s revenue was up 12.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $3.39 EPS. On average, equities research analysts expect that Mastercard Incorporated will post 14.45 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Mastercard Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 8th. Investors of record on Wednesday, October 9th will be given a $0.66 dividend. 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 0.51%. Mastercard’s dividend payout ratio is currently 19.97%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CMO Venkata R. Madabhushi sold 4,685 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on 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 sale, the chief marketing officer now directly owns 15,031 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,363,085.66. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other Mastercard news, CMO Venkata R. Madabhushi sold 4,685 shares of the business’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 completion of the transaction, the chief marketing officer now directly owns 15,031 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,363,085.66. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, major shareholder Foundation Mastercard sold 90,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $468.80, for a total transaction of $42,192,000.00. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 91,649,308 shares in the company, valued at $42,965,195,590.40. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 327,370 shares of company stock valued at $153,495,958. 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.