Fortitude Advisory Group L.L.C. Sells 23 Shares of Mastercard Incorporated $MA

Fortitude Advisory Group L.L.C. trimmed its position in shares of Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) by 2.1% during the second quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 1,057 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after selling 23 shares during the quarter. Fortitude Advisory Group L.L.C.’s holdings in Mastercard were worth $594,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. ORG Partners LLC boosted its stake in Mastercard by 73.2% in the 2nd quarter. ORG Partners LLC now owns 698 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $394,000 after purchasing an additional 295 shares during the period. Ethos Financial Group LLC boosted its stake in Mastercard by 19.5% in the 1st quarter. Ethos Financial Group LLC now owns 3,174 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $1,683,000 after purchasing an additional 518 shares during the period. Fortis Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Mastercard by 9.4% in the 1st quarter. Fortis Advisors LLC now owns 871 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $477,000 after purchasing an additional 75 shares during the period. Canandaigua National Trust Co of Florida boosted its stake in Mastercard by 36.4% in the 1st quarter. Canandaigua National Trust Co of Florida now owns 693 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $380,000 after purchasing an additional 185 shares during the period. Finally, SeaBridge Investment Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Mastercard by 4.3% in the 2nd quarter. SeaBridge Investment Advisors LLC now owns 6,463 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $3,632,000 after purchasing an additional 264 shares during the period. 97.28% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Mastercard Trading Up 0.6%

Shares of NYSE:MA opened at $581.08 on Friday. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $580.26 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $561.85. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.41, a current ratio of 1.16 and a quick ratio of 1.16. Mastercard Incorporated has a one year low of $465.59 and a one year high of $601.77. The stock has a market capitalization of $525.30 billion, a PE ratio of 39.18, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.38 and a beta of 0.97.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 31st. The credit services provider reported $4.15 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $4.05 by $0.10. The firm had revenue of $8.13 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $7.95 billion. Mastercard had a net margin of 44.93% and a return on equity of 200.01%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 16.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $3.50 EPS. On average, equities analysts forecast that Mastercard Incorporated will post 15.91 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Mastercard Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 7th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, October 9th will be issued a $0.76 dividend. This represents a $3.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.5%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, October 9th. Mastercard’s dividend payout ratio is presently 20.50%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Mastercard in a research note on Saturday, September 27th. KeyCorp upped their target price on shares of Mastercard from $635.00 to $660.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, August 1st. The Goldman Sachs Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Mastercard in a research note on Friday, August 1st. TD Cowen reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $645.00 target price on shares of Mastercard in a research note on Monday, August 11th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on shares of Mastercard from $625.00 to $650.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, August 1st. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-five have given a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $630.89.

Insider Transactions at Mastercard

In other news, CFO J. Mehra Sachin sold 17,263 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $591.00, for a total value of $10,202,433.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 31,234 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $18,459,294. This represents a 35.60% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Julius Genachowski sold 312 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $570.67, for a total transaction of $178,049.04. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 8,469 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,833,004.23. The trade was a 3.55% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 35,391 shares of company stock worth $20,836,514. 0.09% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Mastercard 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.