Great Diamond Partners LLC Trims Holdings in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA)

Great Diamond Partners LLC lowered its holdings in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) by 17.2% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 1,805 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after selling 375 shares during the quarter. Great Diamond Partners LLC’s holdings in Mastercard were worth $891,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in MA. Palisade Asset Management LLC bought a new stake in Mastercard in the first quarter valued at $27,000. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL purchased a new stake in shares of Mastercard in the 2nd quarter worth about $34,000. Fairway Wealth LLC bought a new stake in shares of Mastercard during the 2nd quarter valued at about $35,000. Lowe Wealth Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Mastercard by 74.0% during the third quarter. Lowe Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 87 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $43,000 after buying an additional 37 shares during the period. Finally, VitalStone Financial LLC raised its stake in Mastercard by 55.0% in the first quarter. VitalStone Financial LLC now owns 93 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $45,000 after buying an additional 33 shares in the last quarter. 97.28% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Mastercard Trading Down 0.4 %

Mastercard stock opened at $506.28 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.95, a current ratio of 1.14 and a quick ratio of 1.14. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $493.40 and its 200-day moving average price is $465.94. Mastercard Incorporated has a 1 year low of $364.72 and a 1 year high of $518.82. The stock has a market cap of $467.72 billion, a P/E ratio of 38.71, a PEG ratio of 2.27 and a beta of 1.10.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 31st. The credit services provider reported $3.59 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.51 by $0.08. The business had revenue of $6.96 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.85 billion. Mastercard had a net margin of 46.45% and a return on equity of 179.78%. On average, equities analysts predict that Mastercard Incorporated will post 14.32 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Mastercard Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 8th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, October 9th will be paid a $0.66 dividend. This represents a $2.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.52%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, October 9th. Mastercard’s payout ratio is 20.18%.

Insider Transactions at Mastercard

In other Mastercard news, CMO Venkata R. Madabhushi sold 4,685 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, September 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $493.10, for a total transaction of $2,310,173.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief marketing officer now owns 17,118 shares in the company, valued at $8,440,885.80. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. In related news, major shareholder Foundation Mastercard sold 119,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, August 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $468.46, for a total transaction of $55,746,740.00. Following the sale, the insider now owns 92,033,308 shares in the company, valued at approximately $43,113,923,465.68. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CMO Venkata R. Madabhushi sold 4,685 shares of Mastercard stock in a transaction on Friday, September 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $493.10, for a total transaction of $2,310,173.50. Following the transaction, the chief marketing officer now directly owns 17,118 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,440,885.80. 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 340,809 shares of company stock valued at $159,610,703 in the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 0.10% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

MA has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. KeyCorp upped their target price on Mastercard from $490.00 to $515.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, August 1st. Citigroup upped their target price on shares of Mastercard from $528.00 to $538.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 1st. William Blair raised shares of Mastercard to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 31st. Argus raised shares of Mastercard to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 1st. Finally, Bank of America upped their price target on Mastercard from $480.00 to $509.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 17th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eighteen have issued a buy rating and three have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $525.68.

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.