James Investment Research Inc. Reduces Stock Position in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA)

James Investment Research Inc. cut its stake in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) by 1.6% in the third quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 22,762 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after selling 364 shares during the quarter. Mastercard makes up approximately 1.3% of James Investment Research Inc.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 14th biggest position. James Investment Research Inc.’s holdings in Mastercard were worth $11,240,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Goldstein Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Mastercard by 1.3% during the 3rd quarter. Goldstein Advisors LLC now owns 1,516 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $749,000 after buying an additional 20 shares during the period. McLean Asset Management Corp grew its stake in shares of Mastercard by 1.3% during the 3rd quarter. McLean Asset Management Corp now owns 1,677 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $834,000 after buying an additional 21 shares during the period. Oldfather Financial Services LLC grew its stake in shares of Mastercard by 2.6% during the 3rd quarter. Oldfather Financial Services LLC now owns 827 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $408,000 after buying an additional 21 shares during the period. Quilter Plc grew its stake in shares of Mastercard by 2.8% during the 2nd quarter. Quilter Plc now owns 801 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $353,000 after buying an additional 22 shares during the period. Finally, Cornerstone Wealth Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Mastercard by 0.5% during the 3rd quarter. Cornerstone Wealth Management LLC now owns 4,351 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $2,148,000 after acquiring an additional 22 shares in the last quarter. 97.28% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on MA shares. BNP Paribas lowered shares of Mastercard from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $470.00 target price on the stock. in a report on Tuesday, September 3rd. Oppenheimer started coverage on shares of Mastercard in a report on Tuesday, October 1st. They set an “outperform” rating and a $591.00 target price on the stock. William Blair upgraded shares of Mastercard to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 31st. BMO Capital Markets restated an “outperform” rating and set a $520.00 target price on shares of Mastercard in a report on Wednesday, August 14th. Finally, TD Cowen lifted their target price on shares of Mastercard from $532.00 to $533.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, August 1st. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty have issued a buy rating and three have assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Mastercard currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $537.92.

Insider Activity at Mastercard

In related news, CMO Venkata R. Madabhushi sold 4,685 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, September 13th. The shares were 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 owns 17,118 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,440,885.80. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other Mastercard news, CMO Venkata R. Madabhushi sold 4,685 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, September 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $493.10, for a total value of $2,310,173.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief marketing officer now owns 17,118 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,440,885.80. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, major shareholder Foundation Mastercard sold 119,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $468.46, for a total transaction of $55,746,740.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 92,033,308 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $43,113,923,465.68. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 340,809 shares of company stock valued at $159,610,703 in the last quarter. Insiders own 0.10% of the company’s stock.

Mastercard Stock Performance

Shares of Mastercard stock opened at $508.23 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $469.52 billion, a PE ratio of 38.86, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.27 and a beta of 1.10. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $495.77 and its 200-day simple moving average is $466.84. 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 $378.48 and a 1 year high of $527.90.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 31st. The credit services provider reported $3.89 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.73 by $0.16. Mastercard had a net margin of 46.45% and a return on equity of 179.78%. The business had revenue of $7.37 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.27 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $3.39 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 12.8% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts forecast that Mastercard Incorporated will post 14.33 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Mastercard Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 8th. Investors of record on Wednesday, October 9th will be given a dividend of $0.66 per share. This represents a $2.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.52%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, October 9th. Mastercard’s dividend payout ratio is presently 20.18%.

About Mastercard

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.