Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC Has $315,000 Holdings in Mastercard Incorporated $MA

Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC decreased its holdings in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) by 67.8% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 631 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after selling 1,330 shares during the quarter. Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC’s holdings in Mastercard were worth $315,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. E Fund Management Hong Kong Co. Ltd. raised its stake in shares of Mastercard by 820.0% in the fourth quarter. E Fund Management Hong Kong Co. Ltd. now owns 46 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 41 shares during the last quarter. Strive Financial Group LLC bought a new position in shares of Mastercard in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Hyposwiss Advisors SA purchased a new position in shares of Mastercard during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $29,000. First Pacific Financial boosted its position in shares of Mastercard by 113.8% during the first quarter. First Pacific Financial now owns 62 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $31,000 after buying an additional 33 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bay Harbor Wealth Management LLC grew its holdings in Mastercard by 54.1% during the fourth quarter. Bay Harbor Wealth Management LLC now owns 57 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $33,000 after buying an additional 20 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 97.28% of the company’s stock.

Mastercard Stock Performance

Shares of MA opened at $543.55 on Friday. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $503.99 and a 200 day moving average of $516.23. The company has a market capitalization of $480.27 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.46, a PEG ratio of 1.69 and a beta of 0.73. Mastercard Incorporated has a 12 month low of $464.52 and a 12 month high of $601.77. The company has a current ratio of 0.98, a quick ratio of 0.98 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.56.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 30th. The credit services provider reported $4.60 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $4.41 by $0.19. The business had revenue of $8.40 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $8.26 billion. Mastercard had a return on equity of 212.96% and a net margin of 45.88%.The business’s revenue was up 15.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $3.73 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Mastercard Incorporated will post 19.62 earnings per share for the current year.

Mastercard Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 7th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, July 9th will be paid a dividend of $0.87 per share. This represents a $3.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.6%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, July 9th. Mastercard’s payout ratio is presently 20.14%.

Insider Transactions at Mastercard

In related news, insider Sandra A. Arkell sold 200 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $540.00, for a total value of $108,000.00. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 3,322 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,793,880. The trade was a 5.68% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, insider Raj Seshadri sold 4,828 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, July 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $525.00, for a total transaction of $2,534,700.00. Following the transaction, the insider owned 16,429 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,625,225. The trade was a 22.71% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders sold a total of 7,005 shares of company stock worth $3,689,976 over the last three months. 0.09% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on MA shares. Weiss Ratings lowered Mastercard from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research report on Friday, April 24th. Susquehanna cut their price objective on shares of Mastercard from $670.00 to $665.00 and set a “positive” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, May 1st. BMO Capital Markets initiated coverage on shares of Mastercard in a research note on Tuesday, April 21st. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $605.00 target price for the company. Morgan Stanley reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $679.00 target price on shares of Mastercard in a report on Friday, May 1st. Finally, Barclays started coverage on shares of Mastercard in a report on Wednesday, July 8th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $640.00 target price for the company. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty have assigned a Buy rating, one has assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $653.92.

Mastercard 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.