Highland Capital Management LLC Sells 9,570 Shares of Mastercard Incorporated $MA

Highland Capital Management LLC decreased its stake in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) by 90.8% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 967 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after selling 9,570 shares during the period. Highland Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Mastercard were worth $550,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of MA. Pinion Investment Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Mastercard by 0.8% during the 2nd quarter. Pinion Investment Advisors LLC now owns 2,272 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $1,276,000 after purchasing an additional 18 shares during the period. KRS Capital Management LLC grew its position in Mastercard by 0.6% during the second quarter. KRS Capital Management LLC now owns 2,848 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $1,601,000 after buying an additional 18 shares in the last quarter. Nvest Financial LLC increased its stake in Mastercard by 1.2% during the second quarter. Nvest Financial LLC now owns 1,505 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $846,000 after acquiring an additional 18 shares during the period. Washington Trust Advisors Inc. increased its stake in Mastercard by 5.6% during the second quarter. Washington Trust Advisors Inc. now owns 339 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $191,000 after acquiring an additional 18 shares during the period. Finally, Rialto Wealth Management LLC raised its holdings in Mastercard by 13.0% in the 2nd quarter. Rialto Wealth Management LLC now owns 156 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $88,000 after acquiring an additional 18 shares in the last quarter. 97.28% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Mastercard Stock Up 0.0%

Shares of NYSE MA opened at $579.61 on Friday. Mastercard Incorporated has a 52-week low of $465.59 and a 52-week high of $601.77. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.40, a quick ratio of 1.12 and a current ratio of 1.12. The business has a fifty day moving average of $555.62 and a two-hundred day moving average of $565.67. The stock has a market cap of $520.49 billion, a PE ratio of 37.06, a PEG ratio of 2.28 and a beta of 0.87.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, October 30th. The credit services provider reported $4.38 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $4.31 by $0.07. Mastercard had a net margin of 45.28% and a return on equity of 202.03%. The business had revenue of $8.60 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $8.53 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $3.89 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 16.7% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Mastercard Incorporated will post 15.91 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Mastercard Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, February 9th. Stockholders of record on Friday, January 9th will be issued a $0.87 dividend. This represents a $3.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.6%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, January 9th. This is an increase from Mastercard’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.76. Mastercard’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 22.25%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Citigroup raised Mastercard to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Thursday, October 23rd. KeyCorp reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and issued a $665.00 target price on shares of Mastercard in a research report on Wednesday, October 22nd. Hsbc Global Res raised shares of Mastercard from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday, December 8th. Tigress Financial increased their price objective on shares of Mastercard from $685.00 to $730.00 and gave the company a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 6th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada raised their price objective on shares of Mastercard from $645.00 to $654.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, October 31st. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-one have given a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $657.48.

About Mastercard

Mastercard Incorporated is a global payments technology company that operates a network connecting consumers, financial institutions, merchants, governments and businesses in more than 200 countries and territories. The company facilitates electronic payments and transaction processing for credit, debit and prepaid card products carrying the Mastercard brand, while also providing a range of payment-related services to issuers, acquirers and merchants. Its technology and network enable authorization, clearing and settlement of payments and support a broad set of use cases including point-of-sale, e-commerce and mobile payments.

Beyond core transaction processing, Mastercard offers a suite of value-added services such as fraud and risk management, identity and authentication tools, tokenization and digital wallet support, cross-border and commercial payment solutions, and data analytics and consulting services for merchants and financial partners.