Mastercard Incorporated $MA Stock Position Trimmed by Schwartz Investment Counsel Inc.

Schwartz Investment Counsel Inc. lessened its stake in shares of Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) by 4.1% during the 2nd quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 232,574 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after selling 10,000 shares during the quarter. Mastercard makes up approximately 4.3% of Schwartz Investment Counsel Inc.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 2nd biggest holding. Schwartz Investment Counsel Inc.’s holdings in Mastercard were worth $130,693,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of MA. Kingstone Capital Partners Texas LLC purchased a new stake in Mastercard in the second quarter worth $11,421,213,000. Nuveen LLC bought a new position in shares of Mastercard during the 1st quarter worth $4,238,764,000. Wellington Management Group LLP grew its position in shares of Mastercard by 38.6% during the 1st quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 13,526,118 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $7,413,936,000 after buying an additional 3,765,378 shares in the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. grew its position in shares of Mastercard by 3,493.6% during the 2nd quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 934,110 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $524,914,000 after buying an additional 908,116 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD grew its position in shares of Mastercard by 4.7% during the 1st quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 20,096,979 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $11,015,557,000 after buying an additional 907,184 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 97.28% of the company’s stock.

Mastercard Price Performance

Shares of MA stock opened at $566.35 on Tuesday. Mastercard Incorporated has a 1-year low of $465.59 and a 1-year high of $601.77. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $580.07 and its 200 day moving average is $564.03. The company has a market cap of $511.99 billion, a P/E ratio of 38.19, a PEG ratio of 2.30 and a beta of 0.97. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.41, a current ratio of 1.16 and a quick ratio of 1.16.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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 return on equity of 200.01% and a net margin of 44.93%.The company had revenue of $8.13 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.95 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $3.50 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 16.8% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts predict that Mastercard Incorporated will post 15.91 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Mastercard Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 7th. Shareholders 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.5%. Mastercard’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 20.50%.

Insider Buying and Selling

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

MA has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Truist Financial dropped their price target on Mastercard from $640.00 to $612.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, July 17th. Robert W. Baird increased their price target on Mastercard from $640.00 to $660.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, October 6th. The Goldman Sachs Group reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Mastercard in a research report on Friday, August 1st. Seaport Res Ptn raised Mastercard from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Monday, July 14th. Finally, KeyCorp raised their price objective on Mastercard from $635.00 to $660.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, August 1st. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-five have issued a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $634.04.

Mastercard 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.