Independent Solutions Wealth Management LLC Lowers Stock Position in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA)

Independent Solutions Wealth Management LLC trimmed its holdings in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) by 2.1% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 3,699 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after selling 81 shares during the quarter. Independent Solutions Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in Mastercard were worth $1,827,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Highline Wealth Partners LLC purchased a new position in Mastercard in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $25,000. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL bought a new stake in shares of Mastercard in the second quarter valued at about $34,000. Fairway Wealth LLC bought a new stake in shares of Mastercard in the 2nd quarter valued at about $35,000. First Personal Financial Services bought a new position in shares of Mastercard during the third quarter valued at approximately $39,000. Finally, Lowe Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Mastercard by 74.0% during the third quarter. Lowe Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 87 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $43,000 after buying an additional 37 shares during the period. 97.28% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Mastercard

In other news, CMO Venkata R. Madabhushi sold 4,685 shares of Mastercard stock in a transaction dated Friday, September 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $489.86, for a total transaction of $2,294,994.10. Following the sale, the chief marketing officer now directly owns 15,031 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,363,085.66. The trade was a 23.76 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.10% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Compass Point began coverage on Mastercard in a research report on Wednesday, September 4th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $525.00 price target on the stock. Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on Mastercard from $564.00 to $654.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Bank of America lifted their price target on Mastercard from $480.00 to $509.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 17th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised their price objective on Mastercard from $510.00 to $580.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, November 1st. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their target price on Mastercard from $593.00 to $580.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-three have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Mastercard has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $562.76.

Mastercard Stock Up 1.1 %

MA stock traded up $5.95 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $525.91. 1,092,274 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,459,760. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $519.10 and a 200 day simple moving average of $483.15. Mastercard Incorporated has a twelve month low of $416.53 and a twelve month high of $537.13. The company has a market capitalization of $482.70 billion, a PE ratio of 39.78, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.38 and a beta of 1.10. The company has a current ratio of 1.29, a quick ratio of 1.29 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.36.

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

Mastercard announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a share buyback plan on Tuesday, December 17th that allows the company to repurchase $12.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization allows the credit services provider to reacquire up to 2.5% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are usually an indication that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

Mastercard Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 7th. Investors of record on Thursday, January 9th will be issued a $0.76 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, January 9th. This represents a $3.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.58%. This is an increase from Mastercard’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.66. Mastercard’s dividend payout ratio is currently 19.97%.

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.