Simplicity Wealth LLC Lowers Stock Position in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA)

Simplicity Wealth LLC cut its position in shares of Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) by 81.8% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 5,290 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after selling 23,704 shares during the quarter. Simplicity Wealth LLC’s holdings in Mastercard were worth $2,612,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Westend Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Mastercard during the 1st quarter valued at $27,000. Palisade Asset Management LLC bought a new position in Mastercard during the first quarter valued at about $27,000. Scarborough Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Mastercard during the fourth quarter worth about $28,000. Beaird Harris Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in Mastercard in the fourth quarter worth about $30,000. Finally, Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL purchased a new position in Mastercard in the second quarter valued at about $34,000. 97.28% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

MA has been the topic of a number of research reports. Bank of America lifted their price target on shares of Mastercard from $480.00 to $509.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, September 17th. KeyCorp upped their price target on Mastercard from $490.00 to $515.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 1st. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price objective on Mastercard from $500.00 to $526.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, August 1st. BNP Paribas downgraded shares of Mastercard from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $470.00 price objective on the stock. in a report on Tuesday, September 3rd. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on shares of Mastercard from $500.00 to $570.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 20th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nineteen have issued a buy rating and three have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $518.96.

Mastercard Trading Up 0.8 %

Shares of Mastercard stock opened at $502.25 on Friday. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $480.78 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $463.08. The firm has a market cap of $464.00 billion, a PE ratio of 38.40, a PEG ratio of 2.22 and a beta of 1.10. Mastercard Incorporated has a 1 year low of $359.77 and a 1 year high of $502.92. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.95, a current ratio of 1.14 and a quick ratio of 1.14.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 31st. The credit services provider reported $3.59 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.51 by $0.08. The company had revenue of $6.96 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.85 billion. Mastercard had a net margin of 46.45% and a return on equity of 179.78%. Analysts expect that Mastercard Incorporated will post 14.3 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Mastercard Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 8th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, October 9th will be given a dividend of $0.66 per share. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, October 9th. This represents a $2.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.53%. Mastercard’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 20.18%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CMO Venkata R. Madabhushi sold 4,685 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction 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 of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,363,085.66. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. In other Mastercard news, major shareholder Foundation Mastercard sold 119,000 shares of Mastercard 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 of the company’s stock, valued at $43,113,923,465.68. 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 at the SEC website. Also, CMO Venkata R. Madabhushi sold 4,685 shares of the 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 sale, the chief marketing officer now directly owns 15,031 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,363,085.66. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 340,809 shares of company stock worth $159,610,703 in the last quarter. 0.10% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.