Sawgrass Asset Management LLC Has $15.33 Million Stock Holdings in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA)

Sawgrass Asset Management LLC lowered its position in shares of Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) by 4.1% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 31,042 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after selling 1,312 shares during the quarter. Mastercard accounts for about 1.6% of Sawgrass Asset Management LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 18th biggest holding. Sawgrass Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Mastercard were worth $15,329,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of MA. Sarasin & Partners LLP raised its stake in Mastercard by 4.7% during the 3rd quarter. Sarasin & Partners LLP now owns 831,942 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $410,813,000 after buying an additional 37,486 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Mastercard by 4.8% in the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 3,031,915 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $1,497,160,000 after acquiring an additional 138,842 shares in the last quarter. Coppell Advisory Solutions Corp. acquired a new stake in shares of Mastercard during the first quarter worth about $608,000. SteelPeak Wealth LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Mastercard by 48.6% during the 2nd quarter. SteelPeak Wealth LLC now owns 4,928 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $2,174,000 after purchasing an additional 1,612 shares in the last quarter. Finally, OMC Financial Services LTD acquired a new position in shares of Mastercard in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $17,854,000. Institutional investors own 97.28% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Compass Point began coverage on shares of Mastercard in a report on Wednesday, September 4th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $525.00 price target for the company. Oppenheimer assumed coverage on Mastercard in a report on Tuesday, October 1st. They set an “outperform” rating and a $591.00 target price for the company. KeyCorp boosted their price target on Mastercard from $515.00 to $580.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, November 1st. Bank of America increased their price objective on Mastercard from $480.00 to $509.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, September 17th. Finally, Macquarie upped their price target on Mastercard from $505.00 to $565.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, November 1st. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-one have issued a buy rating and three have issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $549.16.

Mastercard Stock Up 0.3 %

MA stock opened at $521.89 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.29, a current ratio of 1.29 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.36. The business has a 50 day moving average of $504.09 and a 200 day moving average of $471.18. Mastercard Incorporated has a twelve month low of $395.55 and a twelve month high of $534.03. The firm has a market cap of $479.01 billion, a PE ratio of 39.48, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.28 and a beta of 1.10.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The credit services provider reported $3.89 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.73 by $0.16. Mastercard had a net margin of 45.26% and a return on equity of 178.27%. The company had revenue of $7.37 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.27 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $3.39 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 12.8% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts forecast that Mastercard Incorporated will post 14.47 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Mastercard Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 8th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, October 9th were issued a $0.66 dividend. This represents a $2.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.51%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, October 9th. Mastercard’s dividend payout ratio is 19.97%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CMO Venkata R. Madabhushi sold 4,685 shares of Mastercard stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the chief marketing officer now owns 17,118 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,440,885.80. This trade represents a 21.49 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, major shareholder Foundation Mastercard sold 109,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, August 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $467.45, for a total transaction of $50,952,050.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 91,924,308 shares in the company, valued at $42,970,017,774.60. This trade represents a 0.12 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 208,370 shares of company stock valued at $97,749,218. 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.