Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC Cuts Stock Position in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA)

Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC decreased its position in shares of Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) by 20.5% in the second quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 6,749 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after selling 1,739 shares during the period. Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC’s holdings in Mastercard were worth $2,977,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of MA. Hoxton Planning & Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Mastercard by 1.4% during the first quarter. Hoxton Planning & Management LLC now owns 1,637 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $788,000 after purchasing an additional 22 shares during the last quarter. Carolinas Wealth Consulting LLC grew its stake in Mastercard by 5.0% during the 4th quarter. Carolinas Wealth Consulting LLC now owns 484 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $206,000 after buying an additional 23 shares during the last quarter. Benin Management CORP increased its position in Mastercard by 3.0% during the first quarter. Benin Management CORP now owns 794 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $382,000 after buying an additional 23 shares during the period. Atticus Wealth Management LLC lifted its stake in Mastercard by 1.3% in the first quarter. Atticus Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,734 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $835,000 after buying an additional 23 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Strategic Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Mastercard by 0.3% in the first quarter. Strategic Advisors LLC now owns 6,881 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $3,314,000 after acquiring an additional 23 shares during the period. 97.28% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity

In related news, major shareholder Foundation Mastercard sold 108,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, June 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $445.09, for a total value of $48,069,720.00. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 93,226,308 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $41,494,097,427.72. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. In other news, CFO J. Mehra Sachin sold 13,439 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, August 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $455.00, for a total value of $6,114,745.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 27,304 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $12,423,320. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, major shareholder Foundation Mastercard sold 108,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, June 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $445.09, for a total value of $48,069,720.00. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 93,226,308 shares in the company, valued at approximately $41,494,097,427.72. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 1,051,467 shares of company stock worth $479,126,615 over the last 90 days. 0.10% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

MA has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on shares of Mastercard from $500.00 to $570.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 20th. William Blair raised shares of Mastercard to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 31st. Argus raised shares of Mastercard to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Thursday, August 1st. KeyCorp raised their price target on Mastercard from $490.00 to $515.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, August 1st. Finally, Barclays upped their price objective on Mastercard from $530.00 to $536.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note 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 issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $510.88.

Mastercard Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:MA opened at $487.06 on Tuesday. Mastercard Incorporated has a 12 month low of $359.77 and a 12 month high of $490.00. The firm has a market capitalization of $452.78 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 38.72, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.87 and a beta of 1.10. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $457.25 and its 200-day simple moving average is $459.76. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.95, a current ratio of 1.14 and a quick ratio of 1.14.

Mastercard Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 9th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, July 9th were issued a $0.66 dividend. This represents a $2.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.54%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, July 9th. Mastercard’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 20.99%.

About Mastercard

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.