Strait & Sound Wealth Management LLC Sells 455 Shares of Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA)

Strait & Sound Wealth Management LLC decreased its stake in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) by 10.8% in the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 3,754 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after selling 455 shares during the quarter. Mastercard makes up about 0.9% of Strait & Sound Wealth Management LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 21st biggest position. Strait & Sound Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in Mastercard were worth $1,854,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in MA. Great Valley Advisor Group Inc. raised its position in Mastercard by 12.4% in the second quarter. Great Valley Advisor Group Inc. now owns 2,602 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $1,147,000 after purchasing an additional 288 shares during the last quarter. ORG Partners LLC boosted its position in Mastercard by 4,073.0% during the 2nd quarter. ORG Partners LLC now owns 3,088 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $1,352,000 after buying an additional 3,014 shares during the period. PGGM Investments grew its holdings in Mastercard by 2.9% during the 2nd quarter. PGGM Investments now owns 115,475 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $50,943,000 after acquiring an additional 3,225 shares during the last quarter. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. increased its position in Mastercard by 1.7% in the 2nd quarter. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. now owns 87,810 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $38,738,000 after acquiring an additional 1,467 shares during the period. Finally, Cornerstone Wealth Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Mastercard by 3.0% during the second quarter. Cornerstone Wealth Management LLC now owns 4,329 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $1,910,000 after acquiring an additional 125 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 97.28% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages recently weighed in on MA. Oppenheimer started coverage on shares of Mastercard in a research note on Tuesday, October 1st. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $591.00 price objective on the stock. Piper Sandler reissued an “overweight” rating and issued a $575.00 price target (up previously from $565.00) on shares of Mastercard in a research note on Friday, November 15th. Compass Point started coverage on Mastercard in a research note on Wednesday, September 4th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $525.00 price objective on the stock. Bank of America upped their target price on Mastercard from $480.00 to $509.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, September 17th. Finally, William Blair restated an “outperform” rating on shares of Mastercard in a research report on Monday, November 25th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-three have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Mastercard currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $559.28.

Mastercard Stock Performance

Shares of MA stock opened at $522.82 on Tuesday. The company has a current ratio of 1.29, a quick ratio of 1.29 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.36. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $514.42 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $479.31. Mastercard Incorporated has a 12 month low of $411.60 and a 12 month high of $535.77. The firm has a market capitalization of $479.86 billion, a PE ratio of 39.55, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.35 and a beta of 1.10.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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 firm had revenue of $7.37 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.27 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $3.39 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 12.8% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts forecast that Mastercard Incorporated will post 14.47 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Mastercard Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 8th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, October 9th were paid a $0.66 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, October 9th. This represents a $2.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.50%. Mastercard’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 19.97%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CMO Venkata R. Madabhushi sold 4,685 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on 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 completion of the sale, the chief marketing officer now directly owns 17,118 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,440,885.80. This trade represents a 21.49 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.10% of the company’s stock.

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.