Mastercard Incorporated $MA Shares Sold by Clifford Swan Investment Counsel LLC

Clifford Swan Investment Counsel LLC cut its holdings in shares of Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) by 60.6% during the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 939 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after selling 1,445 shares during the period. Clifford Swan Investment Counsel LLC’s holdings in Mastercard were worth $469,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the business. Brighton Jones LLC increased its position in shares of Mastercard by 42.3% during the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 6,824 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $3,594,000 after acquiring an additional 2,028 shares during the period. Schnieders Capital Management LLC. boosted its holdings in Mastercard by 8.5% in the second quarter. Schnieders Capital Management LLC. now owns 2,548 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $1,432,000 after purchasing an additional 200 shares during the period. Betterment LLC boosted its holdings in Mastercard by 6.5% in the second quarter. Betterment LLC now owns 947 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $532,000 after purchasing an additional 58 shares during the period. Worldquant Millennium Advisors LLC grew its stake in Mastercard by 35.8% during the 2nd quarter. Worldquant Millennium Advisors LLC now owns 677,204 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $380,548,000 after purchasing an additional 178,387 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Darwin Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in Mastercard during the 2nd quarter worth $431,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 97.28% of the company’s stock.

Mastercard Stock Down 1.4%

MA stock opened at $543.55 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $480.27 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.46, a PEG ratio of 1.69 and a beta of 0.73. 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 Incorporated has a twelve month low of $464.52 and a twelve month high of $601.77. The company’s 50 day moving average is $503.99 and its two-hundred day moving average is $516.23.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, April 30th. The credit services provider reported $4.60 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $4.41 by $0.19. The business had revenue of $8.40 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $8.26 billion. Mastercard had a net margin of 45.88% and a return on equity of 212.96%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 15.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $3.73 EPS. Research analysts expect that Mastercard Incorporated will post 19.62 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Mastercard Announces Dividend

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Mastercard news, insider Sandra A. Arkell sold 200 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, July 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $540.00, for a total value of $108,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 3,322 shares in the company, valued at $1,793,880. This represents a 5.68% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, insider Raj Seshadri sold 1,977 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, July 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $529.73, for a total value of $1,047,276.21. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 16,429 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,702,934.17. The trade was a 10.74% 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. Over the last three months, insiders sold 7,005 shares of company stock valued at $3,689,976. 0.09% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on MA shares. Royal Bank Of Canada reduced their price target on Mastercard from $656.00 to $629.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, May 1st. Robert W. Baird boosted their price objective on Mastercard from $660.00 to $680.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 7th. Citigroup cut their target price on shares of Mastercard from $735.00 to $675.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, April 14th. Raymond James Financial set a $609.00 target price on shares of Mastercard in a report on Friday, May 1st. Finally, Piper Sandler started coverage on shares of Mastercard in a research note on Monday, June 29th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $597.00 price target for the company. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty have issued a Buy rating, one has issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $653.92.

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.