Verus Capital Partners LLC Has $564,000 Holdings in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA)

Verus Capital Partners LLC lessened its holdings in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) by 9.2% during the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 1,171 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after selling 119 shares during the period. Verus Capital Partners LLC’s holdings in Mastercard were worth $564,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Hoxton Planning & Management LLC grew its stake in Mastercard by 1.4% during the first quarter. Hoxton Planning & Management LLC now owns 1,637 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $788,000 after acquiring an additional 22 shares in the last quarter. Carolinas Wealth Consulting LLC grew its stake in Mastercard by 5.0% during the fourth quarter. Carolinas Wealth Consulting LLC now owns 484 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $206,000 after acquiring an additional 23 shares in the last quarter. Benin Management CORP grew its stake in Mastercard by 3.0% during the first quarter. Benin Management CORP now owns 794 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $382,000 after acquiring an additional 23 shares in the last quarter. Atticus Wealth Management LLC grew its stake in Mastercard by 1.3% during the first quarter. Atticus Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,734 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $835,000 after acquiring an additional 23 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Strategic Advisors LLC grew its stake in Mastercard by 0.3% during the first quarter. Strategic Advisors LLC now owns 6,881 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $3,314,000 after acquiring an additional 23 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 97.28% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Mastercard

In related news, major shareholder Foundation Mastercard sold 111,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, April 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $457.15, for a total value of $50,743,650.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 97,432,308 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $44,541,179,602.20. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other Mastercard news, major shareholder Foundation Mastercard sold 111,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, April 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $457.15, for a total transaction of $50,743,650.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 97,432,308 shares in the company, valued at $44,541,179,602.20. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider Sandra A. Arkell sold 300 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $454.00, for a total transaction of $136,200.00. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 3,463 shares in the company, valued at $1,572,202. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 3,163,228 shares of company stock valued at $1,428,540,870 over the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 0.10% of the company’s stock.

Mastercard Trading Up 0.2 %

MA stock traded up $0.70 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, hitting $444.70. 631,862 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,466,447. The firm has a market capitalization of $413.40 billion, a P/E ratio of 35.29, a PEG ratio of 1.74 and a beta of 1.09. Mastercard Incorporated has a 12-month low of $359.77 and a 12-month high of $490.00. The company has a quick ratio of 1.09, a current ratio of 1.09 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.86. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $449.14 and a 200-day simple moving average of $454.86.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, May 1st. The credit services provider reported $3.31 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.22 by $0.09. The business had revenue of $6.35 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.34 billion. Mastercard had a net margin of 46.09% and a return on equity of 183.70%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 10.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm posted $2.80 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts predict that Mastercard Incorporated will post 14.26 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Mastercard Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 9th. Investors of record on Tuesday, July 9th will be given a $0.66 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, July 9th. This represents a $2.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.59%. Mastercard’s dividend payout ratio is presently 20.99%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have commented on MA. Susquehanna reissued a “positive” rating and issued a $535.00 price objective on shares of Mastercard in a research note on Wednesday, April 3rd. Piper Sandler started coverage on shares of Mastercard in a report on Monday, May 13th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $531.00 price objective for the company. Barclays decreased their price objective on shares of Mastercard from $549.00 to $530.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Monday, May 6th. Mizuho reduced their price target on shares of Mastercard from $480.00 to $478.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, May 2nd. Finally, TD Cowen assumed coverage on shares of Mastercard in a report on Thursday, April 11th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $545.00 price target for the company. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-three have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Mastercard currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $498.57.

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.