Mastercard Incorporated $MA Shares Sold by Mitchell Capital Management Co.

Mitchell Capital Management Co. cut its holdings in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) by 11.6% during the second quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 14,754 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after selling 1,927 shares during the period. Mastercard accounts for about 1.5% of Mitchell Capital Management Co.’s portfolio, making the stock its 15th largest holding. Mitchell Capital Management Co.’s holdings in Mastercard were worth $8,154,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in Mastercard by 0.5% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 77,544,675 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $42,503,787,000 after acquiring an additional 365,537 shares during the last quarter. Kingstone Capital Partners Texas LLC acquired a new position in Mastercard in the second quarter valued at approximately $11,421,213,000. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD lifted its stake in Mastercard by 4.7% during the first quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 20,096,979 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $11,015,557,000 after purchasing an additional 907,184 shares in the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its stake in Mastercard by 38.6% during the first quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 13,526,118 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $7,413,936,000 after purchasing an additional 3,765,378 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Nuveen LLC acquired a new position in Mastercard during the first quarter worth $4,238,764,000. 97.28% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Mastercard Price Performance

Shares of MA opened at $556.80 on Monday. Mastercard Incorporated has a fifty-two week low of $465.59 and a fifty-two week high of $601.77. The company has a market capitalization of $503.35 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 37.55, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.28 and a beta of 0.97. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $581.01 and a 200-day simple moving average of $562.90. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.41, a quick ratio of 1.16 and a current ratio of 1.16.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, July 31st. The credit services provider reported $4.15 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $4.05 by $0.10. Mastercard had a net margin of 44.93% and a return on equity of 200.01%. The business had revenue of $8.13 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.95 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $3.50 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 16.8% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Mastercard Incorporated will post 15.91 earnings per share for the current year.

Mastercard Announces Dividend

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have commented on the company. Wolfe Research set a $655.00 price target on Mastercard in a research note on Monday, June 23rd. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on Mastercard from $625.00 to $650.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, August 1st. Seaport Res Ptn raised Mastercard from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday, July 14th. Wall Street Zen lowered Mastercard from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, September 26th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada raised their price objective on Mastercard from $650.00 to $656.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, August 1st. Two 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 company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $634.04.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CFO J. Mehra Sachin sold 17,263 shares of the firm’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 completion of the sale, the chief financial officer owned 31,234 shares in the company, valued at $18,459,294. This trade represents a 35.60% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. 0.09% of the stock is currently 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.