Independent Advisor Alliance Trims Holdings in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA)

Independent Advisor Alliance reduced its stake in shares of Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) by 6.0% in the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 25,922 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after selling 1,665 shares during the quarter. Independent Advisor Alliance’s holdings in Mastercard were worth $12,801,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Sarasin & Partners LLP raised its position in Mastercard by 4.7% during the 3rd quarter. Sarasin & Partners LLP now owns 831,942 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $410,813,000 after purchasing an additional 37,486 shares in the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of Mastercard by 4.8% during the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 3,031,915 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $1,497,160,000 after buying an additional 138,842 shares during the period. Coppell Advisory Solutions Corp. purchased a new stake in Mastercard in the first quarter worth about $608,000. SteelPeak Wealth LLC grew its holdings in Mastercard by 48.6% during the 2nd quarter. SteelPeak Wealth LLC now owns 4,928 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $2,174,000 after acquiring an additional 1,612 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its position in Mastercard by 2.0% during the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 5,010,430 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $2,474,151,000 after purchasing an additional 100,550 shares during the period. 97.28% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Mastercard Trading Up 1.1 %

Shares of Mastercard stock opened at $520.86 on Monday. Mastercard Incorporated has a 1-year low of $404.32 and a 1-year high of $534.03. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.36, a current ratio of 1.29 and a quick ratio of 1.29. The stock has a market cap of $478.06 billion, a P/E ratio of 39.40, a P/E/G ratio of 2.32 and a beta of 1.10. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $506.91 and its 200-day simple moving average is $473.83.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The credit services provider reported $3.89 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.73 by $0.16. Mastercard had a return on equity of 178.27% and a net margin of 45.26%. The business had revenue of $7.37 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.27 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $3.39 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 12.8% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts predict that Mastercard Incorporated will post 14.47 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Mastercard Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 8th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, October 9th were paid a dividend of $0.66 per share. This represents a $2.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.51%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, October 9th. Mastercard’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 19.97%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on MA. Citigroup upped their price target on shares of Mastercard from $566.00 to $572.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, November 4th. Robert W. Baird increased their target price on Mastercard from $545.00 to $575.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 16th. Barclays boosted their price target on Mastercard from $536.00 to $576.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 10th. BMO Capital Markets raised their price objective on Mastercard from $550.00 to $565.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 14th. Finally, Bank of America boosted their target price on shares of Mastercard from $480.00 to $509.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, September 17th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-one have given a buy rating and three have given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Mastercard presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $549.16.

Insider Activity

In related news, CMO Venkata R. Madabhushi sold 4,685 shares of Mastercard stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, September 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $489.86, for a total value of $2,294,994.10. Following the completion of the sale, the chief marketing officer now owns 15,031 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,363,085.66. This trade represents a 23.76 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Insiders own 0.10% of the company’s stock.

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.