Trust Investment Advisors Lowers Holdings in Mastercard Incorporated $MA

Trust Investment Advisors reduced its stake in shares of Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) by 3.9% during the 2nd quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 2,936 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after selling 118 shares during the period. Mastercard accounts for 1.0% of Trust Investment Advisors’ portfolio, making the stock its 29th largest position. Trust Investment Advisors’ holdings in Mastercard were worth $1,650,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of MA. LGT Financial Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Mastercard in the 2nd quarter valued at $25,000. Family Legacy Financial Solutions LLC purchased a new position in shares of Mastercard in the 2nd quarter worth $26,000. Flaharty Asset Management LLC acquired a new position in Mastercard in the first quarter valued at $27,000. Keystone Global Partners LLC acquired a new position in Mastercard in the first quarter valued at $31,000. Finally, IMG Wealth Management Inc. purchased a new stake in Mastercard during the second quarter valued at about $31,000. 97.28% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on MA shares. Citigroup upgraded Mastercard to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Thursday, October 23rd. Seaport Res Ptn raised shares of Mastercard from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Monday, July 14th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft initiated coverage on shares of Mastercard in a research note on Thursday, July 17th. They set a “buy” rating and a $650.00 price objective for the company. TD Cowen reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $645.00 price objective on shares of Mastercard in a research report on Monday, August 11th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada lifted their target price on shares of Mastercard from $650.00 to $656.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, August 1st. Five analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-two have assigned a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $638.96.

Mastercard Trading Down 0.4%

NYSE MA opened at $571.51 on Tuesday. The stock has a market cap of $516.65 billion, a P/E ratio of 38.54, a PEG ratio of 2.35 and a beta of 0.97. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $579.25 and its 200-day simple moving average is $566.75. The company has a current ratio of 1.16, a quick ratio of 1.16 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.41. Mastercard Incorporated has a 52 week low of $465.59 and a 52 week high of $601.77.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 31st. The credit services provider reported $4.15 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.05 by $0.10. Mastercard had a net margin of 44.93% and a return on equity of 200.01%. The business had revenue of $8.13 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.95 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $3.50 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 16.8% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts predict that Mastercard Incorporated will post 15.91 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Mastercard Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 7th. Investors of record on Thursday, October 9th will be paid a $0.76 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, October 9th. This represents a $3.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.5%. Mastercard’s payout ratio is 20.50%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Mastercard news, CFO J. Mehra Sachin sold 17,816 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $586.89, for a total transaction of $10,456,032.24. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer owned 31,234 shares in the company, valued at $18,330,922.26. This trade represents a 36.32% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.09% of the company’s stock.

Mastercard Company Profile

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.