Mastercard Incorporated $MA Shares Sold by Ayrshire Capital Management LLC

Ayrshire Capital Management LLC lessened its holdings in shares of Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) by 8.2% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 11,797 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after selling 1,049 shares during the quarter. Mastercard makes up about 3.1% of Ayrshire Capital Management LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 14th biggest position. Ayrshire Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Mastercard were worth $6,710,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Pinion Investment Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Mastercard by 0.8% in the 2nd quarter. Pinion Investment Advisors LLC now owns 2,272 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $1,276,000 after buying an additional 18 shares during the period. KRS Capital Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Mastercard by 0.6% in the second quarter. KRS Capital Management LLC now owns 2,848 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $1,601,000 after acquiring an additional 18 shares during the last quarter. Nvest Financial LLC grew its holdings in Mastercard by 1.2% in the second quarter. Nvest Financial LLC now owns 1,505 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $846,000 after purchasing an additional 18 shares during the period. Washington Trust Advisors Inc. increased its position in Mastercard by 5.6% during the second quarter. Washington Trust Advisors Inc. now owns 339 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $191,000 after purchasing an additional 18 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Rialto Wealth Management LLC increased its position in Mastercard by 13.0% during the second quarter. Rialto Wealth Management LLC now owns 156 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $88,000 after purchasing an additional 18 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 97.28% of the company’s stock.

Mastercard Trading Down 0.1%

MA opened at $577.33 on Wednesday. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $555.95 and its 200-day moving average is $565.53. Mastercard Incorporated has a 52-week low of $465.59 and a 52-week high of $601.77. The company has a quick ratio of 1.12, a current ratio of 1.12 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.40. The firm has a market capitalization of $518.44 billion, a P/E ratio of 36.91, a P/E/G ratio of 2.27 and a beta of 0.87.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 30th. The credit services provider reported $4.38 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates 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 during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $8.53 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $3.89 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 16.7% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts expect that Mastercard Incorporated will post 15.91 EPS 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 given a dividend of $0.87 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, January 9th. This is a positive change from Mastercard’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.76. This represents a $3.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.6%. Mastercard’s dividend payout ratio is presently 19.44%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have recently issued reports on MA shares. Cowen reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Mastercard in a research note on Friday, October 31st. Robert W. Baird lifted their price target on shares of Mastercard from $640.00 to $660.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, October 6th. Evercore ISI set a $610.00 price objective on shares of Mastercard in a research report on Friday, December 12th. Royal Bank Of Canada raised their target price on shares of Mastercard from $645.00 to $654.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, October 31st. Finally, Macquarie lifted their target price on shares of Mastercard from $655.00 to $660.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, October 31st. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-one have assigned a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $657.48.

Mastercard Company Profile

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.