Aureus Asset Management LLC Sells 80 Shares of Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA)

Aureus Asset Management LLC decreased its holdings in shares of Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) by 6.7% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 1,107 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after selling 80 shares during the period. Aureus Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Mastercard were worth $547,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Highline Wealth Partners LLC bought a new stake in shares of Mastercard during the 3rd quarter valued at $25,000. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL bought a new stake in shares of Mastercard in the 2nd quarter valued at $34,000. Fairway Wealth LLC bought a new stake in shares of Mastercard in the 2nd quarter valued at $35,000. First Personal Financial Services bought a new stake in shares of Mastercard in the 3rd quarter valued at $39,000. Finally, Lowe Wealth Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Mastercard by 74.0% in the 3rd quarter. Lowe Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 87 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $43,000 after buying an additional 37 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 97.28% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms recently commented on MA. Mizuho upped their price objective on shares of Mastercard from $496.00 to $532.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, November 1st. Oppenheimer began coverage on shares of Mastercard in a research report on Tuesday, October 1st. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $591.00 price objective for the company. Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on shares of Mastercard from $544.00 to $564.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 14th. Barclays upped their target price on shares of Mastercard from $536.00 to $576.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 10th. Finally, TD Cowen upped their target price on shares of Mastercard from $533.00 to $567.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, November 15th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-two have issued a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $549.16.

Mastercard Trading Up 0.1 %

Shares of NYSE:MA opened at $532.94 on Monday. Mastercard Incorporated has a 52-week low of $404.32 and a 52-week high of $535.77. The company has a market capitalization of $489.15 billion, a P/E ratio of 40.31, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.37 and a beta of 1.10. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $510.37 and a 200 day simple moving average of $476.43. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.36, a quick ratio of 1.29 and a current ratio of 1.29.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The credit services provider reported $3.89 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.73 by $0.16. Mastercard had a net margin of 45.26% and a return on equity of 178.27%. The business had revenue of $7.37 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.27 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $3.39 EPS. Mastercard’s revenue was up 12.8% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts forecast that Mastercard Incorporated will post 14.47 earnings per share for the current year.

Mastercard Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 8th. Investors of record on Wednesday, October 9th were paid a $0.66 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, October 9th. This represents a $2.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.50%. Mastercard’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 19.97%.

Insider Activity at Mastercard

In other Mastercard news, CMO Venkata R. Madabhushi sold 4,685 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, September 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $493.10, for a total value of $2,310,173.50. Following the transaction, the chief marketing officer now directly owns 17,118 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,440,885.80. This represents a 21.49 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. 0.10% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.