Granite Group Advisors LLC Sells 68 Shares of Mastercard Incorporated $MA

Granite Group Advisors LLC lessened its position in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) by 15.3% during the 2nd quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 376 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after selling 68 shares during the quarter. Granite Group Advisors LLC’s holdings in Mastercard were worth $211,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. ORG Partners LLC grew its position in Mastercard by 73.2% during the 2nd quarter. ORG Partners LLC now owns 698 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $394,000 after acquiring an additional 295 shares during the last quarter. Ethos Financial Group LLC boosted its stake in Mastercard by 19.5% in the first 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 in the last quarter. Wheelhouse Advisory Group LLC grew its holdings in shares of Mastercard by 4.4% during the second quarter. Wheelhouse Advisory Group LLC now owns 1,336 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $751,000 after purchasing an additional 56 shares during the last quarter. Canandaigua National Trust Co of Florida grew its holdings in shares of Mastercard by 36.4% during the first 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 last quarter. Finally, SeaBridge Investment Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Mastercard by 4.3% in the second quarter. SeaBridge Investment Advisors LLC now owns 6,463 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $3,632,000 after buying an additional 264 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 97.28% of the company’s stock.

Mastercard Price Performance

MA opened at $567.88 on Wednesday. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $580.83 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $563.06. The firm has a market capitalization of $513.37 billion, a PE ratio of 38.29, a P/E/G ratio of 2.29 and a beta of 0.97. Mastercard Incorporated has a 52 week low of $465.59 and a 52 week high of $601.77. 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 posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 31st. The credit services provider reported $4.15 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $4.05 by $0.10. Mastercard had a return on equity of 200.01% and a net margin of 44.93%.The business had revenue of $8.13 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.95 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $3.50 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 16.8% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts anticipate that Mastercard Incorporated will post 15.91 earnings per share for the current year.

Mastercard Announces Dividend

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Seaport Res Ptn upgraded shares of Mastercard from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Monday, July 14th. Wolfe Research set a $655.00 price target on shares of Mastercard in a report on Monday, June 23rd. Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on Mastercard from $639.00 to $661.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, August 1st. Wall Street Zen cut Mastercard from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, September 26th. Finally, TD Cowen restated a “buy” rating and set a $645.00 target price on shares of Mastercard in a research report on Monday, August 11th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-five have issued a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $634.04.

Insider Activity at Mastercard

In related news, CFO J. Mehra Sachin sold 17,263 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, September 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $591.00, for a total transaction of $10,202,433.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 31,234 shares in the company, valued at approximately $18,459,294. The trade was a 35.60% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. 0.09% of the stock is currently owned by company 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.