Bailard Inc. Sells 186 Shares of Mastercard Incorporated $MA

Bailard Inc. decreased its stake in shares of Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) by 4.2% in the second quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 4,240 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after selling 186 shares during the quarter. Bailard Inc.’s holdings in Mastercard were worth $2,383,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. LGT Financial Advisors LLC bought a new position in Mastercard in the second quarter worth approximately $25,000. Family Legacy Financial Solutions LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Mastercard in the 2nd quarter worth $26,000. Flaharty Asset Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Mastercard during the 1st quarter worth $27,000. Keystone Global Partners LLC purchased a new position in shares of Mastercard during the first quarter valued at $31,000. Finally, IMG Wealth Management Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Mastercard in the second quarter valued at about $31,000. 97.28% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Mastercard Stock Up 0.5%

Mastercard stock opened at $561.28 on Thursday. Mastercard Incorporated has a 1-year low of $465.59 and a 1-year high of $601.77. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $570.06 and a 200-day moving average price of $569.74. 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 stock has a market capitalization of $504.03 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 37.85, a PEG ratio of 2.27 and a beta of 0.92.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 30th. The credit services provider reported $4.38 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.31 by $0.07. The company had revenue of $8.60 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $8.53 billion. Mastercard had a return on equity of 200.01% and a net margin of 44.93%.The firm’s revenue was up 16.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business posted $3.89 earnings per share. Equities research analysts forecast that Mastercard Incorporated will post 15.91 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Mastercard Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 7th. Investors of record on Thursday, October 9th were paid a $0.76 dividend. The ex-dividend date was 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 19.44%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Mastercard news, CFO J. Mehra Sachin sold 17,263 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, September 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $591.00, for a total transaction of $10,202,433.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 31,234 shares in the company, valued at approximately $18,459,294. This represents a 35.60% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.09% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have issued reports on MA. Robert W. Baird increased their target price on shares of Mastercard from $640.00 to $660.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, October 6th. Royal Bank Of Canada upped their price target on shares of Mastercard from $645.00 to $654.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, October 31st. Morgan Stanley set a $665.00 price objective on shares of Mastercard and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, October 31st. Compass Point set a $620.00 price objective on shares of Mastercard and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, October 31st. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $713.00 target price on shares of Mastercard in a research report on Thursday, October 30th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-three have issued a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $649.26.

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.