Carolinas Wealth Consulting LLC Decreases Stock Holdings in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA)

Carolinas Wealth Consulting LLC trimmed its position in shares of Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) by 18.0% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 411 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after selling 90 shares during the period. Carolinas Wealth Consulting LLC’s holdings in Mastercard were worth $181,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of MA. Swedbank AB purchased a new stake in shares of Mastercard during the 1st quarter worth approximately $660,652,000. PineStone Asset Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Mastercard by 145.6% during the 2nd quarter. PineStone Asset Management Inc. now owns 1,777,468 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $784,148,000 after acquiring an additional 1,053,616 shares in the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Mastercard by 1.0% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 75,253,734 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $32,096,470,000 after acquiring an additional 742,076 shares in the last quarter. Capital International Investors raised its holdings in shares of Mastercard by 3.3% during the 4th quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 21,041,685 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $8,974,478,000 after acquiring an additional 676,452 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Capital Research Global Investors raised its holdings in shares of Mastercard by 4.7% during the 4th quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 13,608,023 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $5,803,956,000 after acquiring an additional 605,909 shares in the last quarter. 97.28% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Mastercard Stock Performance

Shares of Mastercard stock opened at $494.76 on Thursday. The firm has a market cap of $459.94 billion, a P/E ratio of 39.33, a P/E/G ratio of 1.92 and a beta of 1.10. The company has a current ratio of 1.14, a quick ratio of 1.14 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.95. Mastercard Incorporated has a 12 month low of $359.77 and a 12 month high of $501.80. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $464.06 and its 200-day moving average price is $460.76.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 31st. The credit services provider reported $3.59 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.51 by $0.08. Mastercard had a return on equity of 179.78% and a net margin of 46.45%. The firm had revenue of $6.96 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.85 billion. On average, equities research analysts expect that Mastercard Incorporated will post 14.29 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Mastercard Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 8th. Investors of record on Wednesday, October 9th will be given a dividend of $0.66 per share. This represents a $2.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.53%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, October 9th. Mastercard’s payout ratio is currently 20.99%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on MA shares. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their target price on Mastercard from $500.00 to $526.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 1st. Compass Point started coverage on Mastercard in a research report on Wednesday, September 4th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $525.00 target price on the stock. BMO Capital Markets reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $520.00 target price on shares of Mastercard in a research report on Wednesday, August 14th. William Blair raised Mastercard to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 31st. Finally, Barclays boosted their target price on Mastercard from $530.00 to $536.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, August 5th. Five investment 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 company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $512.08.

Insider Activity at Mastercard

In related news, CMO Venkata R. Madabhushi sold 4,685 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, September 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $493.10, for a total transaction of $2,310,173.50. Following the sale, the chief marketing officer now owns 17,118 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,440,885.80. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In other Mastercard news, CMO Venkata R. Madabhushi sold 4,685 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, September 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $493.10, for a total value of $2,310,173.50. Following the completion of the sale, the chief marketing officer now owns 17,118 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,440,885.80. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, major shareholder Foundation Mastercard sold 138,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, June 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $453.19, for a total value of $62,540,220.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 92,152,308 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $41,762,504,462.52. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 605,124 shares of company stock valued at $280,045,189 over the last quarter. 0.10% of the stock is owned by corporate 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.