Boston Research & Management Inc. Trims Stock Holdings in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA)

Boston Research & Management Inc. cut its holdings in shares of Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) by 1.4% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 21,507 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after selling 313 shares during the quarter. Mastercard accounts for approximately 2.4% of Boston Research & Management Inc.’s holdings, making the stock its 5th biggest holding. Boston Research & Management Inc.’s holdings in Mastercard were worth $9,488,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Swedbank AB purchased a new position in shares of Mastercard in the first quarter worth $660,652,000. PineStone Asset Management Inc. increased its position in shares of Mastercard by 145.6% in the second quarter. PineStone Asset Management Inc. now owns 1,777,468 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $784,148,000 after acquiring an additional 1,053,616 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of Mastercard by 1.0% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 75,253,734 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $32,096,470,000 after acquiring an additional 742,076 shares during the last quarter. Capital International Investors boosted its holdings in shares of Mastercard by 3.3% during the fourth quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 21,041,685 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $8,974,478,000 after purchasing an additional 676,452 shares during the period. Finally, Capital Research Global Investors grew its stake in shares of Mastercard by 4.7% in the fourth quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 13,608,023 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $5,803,956,000 after purchasing an additional 605,909 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 97.28% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on the company. Barclays increased their price objective on Mastercard from $530.00 to $536.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, August 5th. Susquehanna lifted their price target on shares of Mastercard from $535.00 to $540.00 and gave the company a “positive” rating in a report on Thursday, August 1st. Evercore ISI dropped their target price on shares of Mastercard from $540.00 to $525.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, June 25th. Bank of America boosted their price target on shares of Mastercard from $480.00 to $509.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday. Finally, William Blair upgraded shares of Mastercard to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 31st. Five 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.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $512.08.

Mastercard Stock Down 0.1 %

NYSE:MA opened at $492.63 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.95, a quick ratio of 1.14 and a current ratio of 1.14. The firm has a market cap of $457.96 billion, a P/E ratio of 39.16, a P/E/G ratio of 1.92 and a beta of 1.10. Mastercard Incorporated has a fifty-two week low of $359.77 and a fifty-two week high of $501.80. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $466.24 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $461.15.

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

Mastercard Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 8th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, October 9th will be paid a $0.66 dividend. This represents a $2.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.54%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, October 9th. Mastercard’s dividend payout ratio is currently 20.99%.

Insider Activity

In related news, major shareholder Foundation Mastercard sold 131,000 shares of Mastercard stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $459.46, for a total value of $60,189,260.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 92,426,308 shares in the company, valued at approximately $42,466,191,473.68. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. In related news, major shareholder Foundation Mastercard sold 131,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $459.46, for a total value of $60,189,260.00. Following the sale, the insider now owns 92,426,308 shares in the company, valued at $42,466,191,473.68. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CMO Venkata R. Madabhushi sold 4,685 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, September 13th. The shares were 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 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 ninety days. 0.10% of the stock is currently 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.