Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) Shares Sold by Hartford Financial Management Inc.

Hartford Financial Management Inc. trimmed its holdings in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) by 14.1% in the third quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 999 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after selling 164 shares during the quarter. Hartford Financial Management Inc.’s holdings in Mastercard were worth $493,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the business. China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd. lifted its stake in Mastercard by 46.4% during the first quarter. China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 14,785 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $7,120,000 after buying an additional 4,685 shares in the last quarter. Prosperity Consulting Group LLC lifted its stake in Mastercard by 5.9% during the first quarter. Prosperity Consulting Group LLC now owns 1,694 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $816,000 after buying an additional 95 shares in the last quarter. Centric Wealth Management lifted its stake in Mastercard by 1.4% during the first quarter. Centric Wealth Management now owns 10,469 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $4,724,000 after buying an additional 147 shares in the last quarter. Source Financial Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Mastercard by 2.9% during the first quarter. Source Financial Advisors LLC now owns 920 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $443,000 after buying an additional 26 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Blackhawk Capital Partners LLC. lifted its stake in Mastercard by 524.6% during the first quarter. Blackhawk Capital Partners LLC. now owns 4,041 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $1,946,000 after buying an additional 3,394 shares in the last quarter. 97.28% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity

In other news, CMO Venkata R. Madabhushi sold 4,685 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, September 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $489.86, for a total value of $2,294,994.10. Following the sale, the chief marketing officer now owns 15,031 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,363,085.66. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other news, CMO Venkata R. Madabhushi sold 4,685 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, September 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $489.86, for a total value of $2,294,994.10. Following the sale, the chief marketing officer now owns 15,031 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,363,085.66. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, major shareholder Foundation Mastercard sold 90,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $468.80, for a total transaction of $42,192,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 91,649,308 shares in the company, valued at approximately $42,965,195,590.40. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 340,809 shares of company stock valued at $159,610,703 over the last 90 days. 0.10% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Mastercard Trading Down 2.8 %

NYSE:MA opened at $499.08 on Friday. Mastercard Incorporated has a 12 month low of $373.11 and a 12 month high of $527.90. The firm has a market cap of $461.07 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 38.16, a P/E/G ratio of 2.27 and a beta of 1.10. The company has a quick ratio of 1.14, a current ratio of 1.14 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.95. The company’s 50 day moving average is $494.93 and its 200-day moving average is $466.50.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The credit services provider reported $3.89 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.73 by $0.16. Mastercard had a net margin of 46.45% and a return on equity of 179.78%. The company had revenue of $7.37 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.27 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $3.39 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 12.8% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts anticipate that Mastercard Incorporated will post 14.33 EPS for the current year.

Mastercard Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 8th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, October 9th will be given a $0.66 dividend. This represents a $2.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.53%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, October 9th. Mastercard’s dividend payout ratio is 20.18%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have commented on MA. KeyCorp upped their price objective on shares of Mastercard from $490.00 to $515.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 1st. Bank of America upped their target price on Mastercard from $480.00 to $509.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, September 17th. Oppenheimer assumed coverage on shares of Mastercard in a research report on Tuesday, October 1st. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $591.00 price target for the company. Citigroup increased their price target on shares of Mastercard from $528.00 to $538.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 1st. Finally, TD Cowen increased their price target on shares of Mastercard from $532.00 to $533.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 1st. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eighteen have issued a buy rating and three have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $527.00.

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.