ProVise Management Group LLC Sells 197 Shares of Mastercard Incorporated $MA

ProVise Management Group LLC reduced its holdings in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) by 3.3% during the second quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 5,814 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after selling 197 shares during the quarter. ProVise Management Group LLC’s holdings in Mastercard were worth $3,267,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Brighton Jones LLC grew its stake in Mastercard by 42.3% in the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 6,824 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $3,594,000 after buying an additional 2,028 shares in the last quarter. Bailard Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Mastercard by 8.6% during the 1st quarter. Bailard Inc. now owns 4,426 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $2,426,000 after acquiring an additional 352 shares during the last quarter. Alexander Labrunerie & CO. Inc. purchased a new position in Mastercard in the first quarter worth $206,000. Darden Wealth Group Inc increased its stake in Mastercard by 1.8% in the first quarter. Darden Wealth Group Inc now owns 2,835 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $1,554,000 after acquiring an additional 50 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Archer Investment Corp increased its stake in Mastercard by 1.7% in the first quarter. Archer Investment Corp now owns 3,673 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $2,013,000 after acquiring an additional 62 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 97.28% of the company’s stock.

Mastercard Trading Down 1.8%

Shares of MA opened at $545.31 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $489.68 billion, a P/E ratio of 36.77, a PEG ratio of 2.27 and a beta of 0.92. The company has a quick ratio of 1.16, a current ratio of 1.16 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.41. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $568.49 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $569.72. Mastercard Incorporated has a twelve month low of $465.59 and a twelve month high of $601.77.

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

Mastercard Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 7th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, October 9th were given a dividend of $0.76 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, October 9th. This represents a $3.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.6%. Mastercard’s dividend payout ratio is presently 19.44%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

MA has been the subject of a number of research reports. Citigroup upgraded Mastercard to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Thursday, October 23rd. Wall Street Zen upgraded Mastercard from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, October 18th. Robert W. Baird increased their price target on shares of Mastercard from $640.00 to $660.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, October 6th. UBS Group lifted their price target on shares of Mastercard from $690.00 to $700.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, October 31st. Finally, Cowen restated a “buy” rating on shares of Mastercard in a report on Friday, October 31st. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-two have given a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Mastercard presently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $652.50.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CFO J. Mehra Sachin sold 17,263 shares of Mastercard stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 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 position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.09% of the company’s stock.

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.