Equitable Trust Co. Trims Stock Holdings in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA)

Equitable Trust Co. decreased its holdings in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) by 0.2% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 38,132 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after selling 79 shares during the period. Mastercard accounts for about 1.2% of Equitable Trust Co.’s holdings, making the stock its 18th biggest position. Equitable Trust Co.’s holdings in Mastercard were worth $16,822,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of the business. Altshuler Shaham Ltd bought a new position in shares of Mastercard in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $26,000. VitalStone Financial LLC boosted its position in shares of Mastercard by 300.0% in the fourth quarter. VitalStone Financial LLC now owns 60 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $26,000 after acquiring an additional 45 shares during the period. Westend Capital Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Mastercard in the first quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Palisade Asset Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Mastercard in the first quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Finally, Scarborough Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Mastercard in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 97.28% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Mastercard

In other Mastercard news, CFO J. Mehra Sachin sold 13,439 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, August 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $455.00, for a total transaction of $6,114,745.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 27,304 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $12,423,320. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other Mastercard news, CFO J. Mehra Sachin sold 13,439 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, August 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $455.00, for a total transaction of $6,114,745.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 27,304 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $12,423,320. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, major shareholder Foundation Mastercard sold 90,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $468.80, for a total transaction of $42,192,000.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 91,649,308 shares in the company, valued at $42,965,195,590.40. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 1,516,959 shares of company stock valued at $686,890,426. 0.10% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on the stock. BMO Capital Markets reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $520.00 target price on shares of Mastercard in a research report on Wednesday, August 14th. Argus upgraded shares of Mastercard to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 1st. KeyCorp lifted their target price on shares of Mastercard from $490.00 to $515.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 1st. 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 research report on Tuesday, August 20th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada lifted their target price on shares of Mastercard from $500.00 to $526.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 1st. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-one have assigned a buy rating and four have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $512.09.

Mastercard Trading Up 0.5 %

Shares of NYSE MA traded up $2.54 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $483.34. The stock had a trading volume of 2,982,115 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,062,331. 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 Incorporated has a 1 year low of $359.77 and a 1 year high of $490.00. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $453.20 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $459.10. The firm has a market cap of $446.53 billion, a P/E ratio of 38.42, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.90 and a beta of 1.09.

Mastercard Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 9th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, July 9th were given a dividend of $0.66 per share. This represents a $2.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.55%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, July 9th. Mastercard’s payout ratio is currently 20.99%.

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.