Fortis Group Advisors LLC Decreases Stock Holdings in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA)

Fortis Group Advisors LLC lessened its position in shares of Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) by 48.3% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 3,655 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after selling 3,415 shares during the quarter. Fortis Group Advisors LLC’s holdings in Mastercard were worth $1,805,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in MA. Palisade Asset Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Mastercard in the first quarter worth $27,000. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL acquired a new stake in shares of Mastercard during the 2nd quarter worth about $34,000. Fairway Wealth LLC purchased a new stake in Mastercard during the second quarter worth approximately $35,000. Lowe Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Mastercard by 74.0% in the third quarter. Lowe Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 87 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $43,000 after purchasing an additional 37 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Valued Wealth Advisors LLC increased its stake in Mastercard by 168.6% in the first quarter. Valued Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 94 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $45,000 after purchasing an additional 59 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 97.28% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Mastercard

In related news, major shareholder Foundation Mastercard sold 119,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $468.46, for a total transaction of $55,746,740.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 92,033,308 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $43,113,923,465.68. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other news, CMO Venkata R. Madabhushi sold 4,685 shares of the business’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 transaction, the chief marketing officer now directly owns 17,118 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,440,885.80. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, major shareholder Foundation Mastercard sold 119,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $468.46, for a total value of $55,746,740.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 92,033,308 shares in the company, valued at approximately $43,113,923,465.68. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 340,809 shares of company stock worth $159,610,703. 0.10% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Mastercard Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:MA traded down $3.65 during trading on Tuesday, hitting $511.36. 367,657 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,431,612. Mastercard Incorporated has a 1-year low of $359.77 and a 1-year high of $518.82. The company has a market capitalization of $475.37 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 40.94, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.22 and a beta of 1.10. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $488.09 and its 200-day simple moving average is $464.33. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.95, a quick ratio of 1.14 and a current ratio of 1.14.

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. The business had revenue of $6.96 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.85 billion. Mastercard had a return on equity of 179.78% and a net margin of 46.45%. Sell-side analysts expect that Mastercard Incorporated will post 14.3 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Mastercard Announces Dividend

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 issued a $0.66 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, October 9th. This represents a $2.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.52%. Mastercard’s dividend payout ratio is presently 20.99%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have weighed in on MA. Oppenheimer began coverage on shares of Mastercard in a report on Tuesday, October 1st. They set an “outperform” rating and a $591.00 price objective on the stock. Evercore ISI dropped their price objective on shares of Mastercard from $540.00 to $525.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, June 25th. Barclays boosted their price objective on shares of Mastercard from $536.00 to $576.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 10th. KeyCorp boosted their target price on shares of Mastercard from $490.00 to $515.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 1st. Finally, BNP Paribas lowered shares of Mastercard from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $470.00 target price on the stock. in a research report on Tuesday, September 3rd. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eighteen have issued a buy rating and three have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $525.68.

Mastercard 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.