Mastercard Incorporated $MA Shares Sold by Jennison Associates LLC

Jennison Associates LLC cut its position in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) by 0.3% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 6,051,004 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after selling 17,414 shares during the quarter. Mastercard makes up 2.0% of Jennison Associates LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 9th biggest holding. Jennison Associates LLC’s holdings in Mastercard were worth $3,400,301,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. LGT Financial Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Mastercard in the 2nd quarter valued at about $25,000. Family Legacy Financial Solutions LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Mastercard in the 2nd quarter valued at about $26,000. Flaharty Asset Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Mastercard in the 1st quarter valued at about $27,000. Keystone Global Partners LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Mastercard in the 1st quarter valued at about $31,000. Finally, IMG Wealth Management Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Mastercard in the 2nd quarter valued at about $31,000. 97.28% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Mastercard Stock Performance

NYSE MA opened at $565.79 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.41, a current ratio of 1.16 and a quick ratio of 1.16. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $578.85 and a 200 day moving average price of $567.21. The company has a market capitalization of $511.48 billion, a P/E ratio of 38.15, a PEG ratio of 2.34 and a beta of 0.97. Mastercard Incorporated has a 1-year low of $465.59 and a 1-year 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, topping the consensus estimate of $4.05 by $0.10. Mastercard had a return on equity of 200.01% and a net margin of 44.93%.The company had revenue of $8.13 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.95 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $3.50 earnings per share. Mastercard’s revenue was up 16.8% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts expect that Mastercard Incorporated will post 15.91 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Mastercard Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 7th. Investors of record on Thursday, October 9th will be issued a $0.76 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, October 9th. This represents a $3.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.5%. Mastercard’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 20.50%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Mastercard news, CFO J. Mehra Sachin sold 17,816 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $586.89, for a total value of $10,456,032.24. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 31,234 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $18,330,922.26. This trade represents a 36.32% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.09% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

MA has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Mastercard in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. The Goldman Sachs Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Mastercard in a research report on Friday, August 1st. Wall Street Zen raised Mastercard from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, October 18th. Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on Mastercard from $639.00 to $661.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, August 1st. Finally, KeyCorp reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $665.00 price objective on shares of Mastercard in a research report on Wednesday, October 22nd. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-two have issued a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $638.96.

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.