Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) Shares Sold by Cornerstone Advisors LLC

Cornerstone Advisors LLC reduced its position in shares of Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) by 5.5% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 46,500 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after selling 2,700 shares during the period. Mastercard makes up about 0.8% of Cornerstone Advisors LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 28th largest position. Cornerstone Advisors LLC’s holdings in Mastercard were worth $20,514,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. VitalStone Financial LLC raised its holdings in shares of Mastercard by 300.0% in the 4th quarter. VitalStone Financial LLC now owns 60 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 45 shares in the last quarter. Westend Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in Mastercard in the first quarter worth approximately $27,000. Palisade Asset Management LLC acquired a new stake in Mastercard during the 1st quarter worth about $27,000. Scarborough Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Mastercard during the fourth quarter valued at about $28,000. Finally, Beaird Harris Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Mastercard in the fourth quarter worth approximately $30,000. 97.28% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Mastercard Stock Up 0.3 %

NYSE MA opened at $493.36 on Monday. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $460.67 and its 200 day simple moving average is $460.18. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.95, a current ratio of 1.14 and a quick ratio of 1.14. Mastercard Incorporated has a one year low of $359.77 and a one year high of $496.85. The firm has a market cap of $458.63 billion, a PE ratio of 39.22, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.92 and a beta of 1.10.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, July 31st. The credit services provider reported $3.59 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.51 by $0.08. The company had revenue of $6.96 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.85 billion. Mastercard had a return on equity of 179.78% and a net margin of 46.45%. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Mastercard Incorporated will post 14.29 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Mastercard Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 9th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, July 9th were given a dividend of $0.66 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, July 9th. This represents a $2.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.54%. Mastercard’s payout ratio is 20.99%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have weighed in on MA. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on shares of Mastercard from $500.00 to $570.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 20th. Citigroup boosted 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. Evercore ISI cut their price target on shares of Mastercard from $540.00 to $525.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, June 25th. Argus raised shares of Mastercard to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 1st. Finally, Susquehanna increased their target price on shares of Mastercard from $535.00 to $540.00 and gave the stock a “positive” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 1st. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-one have given a buy rating and three have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $510.88.

Insider Activity

In other Mastercard news, CFO J. Mehra Sachin sold 13,439 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, August 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $455.00, for a total value of $6,114,745.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 27,304 shares in the company, valued at approximately $12,423,320. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. In other news, CFO J. Mehra Sachin sold 13,439 shares of Mastercard stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $455.00, for a total transaction of $6,114,745.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 27,304 shares in the company, valued at approximately $12,423,320. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, major shareholder Foundation Mastercard sold 111,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, June 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $451.07, for a total transaction of $50,068,770.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 92,672,308 shares in the company, valued at $41,801,697,969.56. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 720,467 shares of company stock valued at $331,875,955 over the last three months. 0.10% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Mastercard Company 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.