Citigroup Inc. Trims Holdings in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA)

Citigroup Inc. cut its position in shares of Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) by 0.6% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 626,336 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after selling 3,651 shares during the quarter. Citigroup Inc.’s holdings in Mastercard were worth $309,285,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Highline Wealth Partners LLC acquired a new stake in Mastercard in the 3rd quarter worth about $25,000. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL acquired a new stake in shares of Mastercard in the second quarter worth approximately $34,000. Fairway Wealth LLC purchased a new stake in Mastercard in the second quarter valued at approximately $35,000. First Personal Financial Services acquired a new position in Mastercard during the third quarter worth approximately $39,000. Finally, Lowe Wealth Advisors LLC raised its stake in Mastercard by 74.0% during the third quarter. Lowe Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 87 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $43,000 after purchasing an additional 37 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 97.28% of the company’s stock.

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 stock was sold at an average price of $489.86, for a total value of $2,294,994.10. Following the completion of the sale, the chief marketing officer now owns 15,031 shares in the company, valued at $7,363,085.66. This represents a 23.76 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. 0.10% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Mastercard Trading Up 0.5 %

Shares of NYSE:MA opened at $515.10 on Friday. Mastercard Incorporated has a fifty-two week low of $404.32 and a fifty-two week high of $534.03. The company has a quick ratio of 1.29, a current ratio of 1.29 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.36. The company has a market cap of $472.77 billion, a PE ratio of 38.96, a P/E/G ratio of 2.31 and a beta of 1.10. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $506.36 and its 200 day moving average price is $473.05.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The credit services provider reported $3.89 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.73 by $0.16. Mastercard had a return on equity of 178.27% and a net margin of 45.26%. The firm had revenue of $7.37 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $7.27 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $3.39 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 12.8% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Mastercard Incorporated will post 14.47 earnings per share for the current year.

Mastercard Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced 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. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, October 9th. This represents a $2.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.51%. Mastercard’s payout ratio is 19.97%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on MA. Macquarie boosted their price objective on shares of Mastercard from $505.00 to $565.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Piper Sandler reissued an “overweight” rating and set a $575.00 price target (up previously from $565.00) on shares of Mastercard in a research report on Friday, November 15th. KeyCorp raised their price objective on Mastercard from $515.00 to $580.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, November 1st. Oppenheimer initiated coverage on Mastercard in a report on Tuesday, October 1st. They set an “outperform” rating and a $591.00 target price for the company. Finally, UBS Group raised their price target on shares of Mastercard from $590.00 to $610.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, November 14th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-one have assigned a buy rating and three have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $549.16.

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.