Affinity Wealth Management LLC Trims Stock Position in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA)

Affinity Wealth Management LLC trimmed its stake in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) by 0.2% during the third quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 15,670 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after selling 27 shares during the period. Mastercard makes up 1.4% of Affinity Wealth Management LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 20th largest holding. Affinity Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in Mastercard were worth $7,738,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Westend Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Mastercard in the first quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Palisade Asset Management LLC acquired a new stake in Mastercard during the 1st quarter worth $27,000. Scarborough Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Mastercard during the 4th quarter worth $28,000. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL acquired a new position in Mastercard in the second quarter valued at $34,000. Finally, Fairway Wealth LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Mastercard in the second quarter valued at about $35,000. 97.28% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages recently issued reports on MA. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on Mastercard from $500.00 to $570.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 20th. KeyCorp upped their price target on Mastercard from $490.00 to $515.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 1st. Bank of America lifted their price objective on shares of Mastercard from $480.00 to $509.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 17th. BMO Capital Markets restated an “outperform” rating and set a $520.00 price objective on shares of Mastercard in a research report on Wednesday, August 14th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada raised their target price on shares of Mastercard from $500.00 to $526.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 1st. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eighteen have assigned a buy rating and three have issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Mastercard presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $523.27.

Insider Activity at Mastercard

In other news, major shareholder Foundation Mastercard sold 119,000 shares of Mastercard stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $468.46, for a total transaction of $55,746,740.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 92,033,308 shares in the company, valued at $43,113,923,465.68. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In other news, CMO Venkata R. Madabhushi sold 4,685 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, September 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $489.86, for a total transaction of $2,294,994.10. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief marketing officer now owns 15,031 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,363,085.66. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, major shareholder Foundation Mastercard sold 119,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $468.46, for a total transaction of $55,746,740.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 92,033,308 shares in the company, valued at approximately $43,113,923,465.68. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 340,809 shares of company stock valued at $159,610,703 over the last quarter. Insiders own 0.10% of the company’s stock.

Mastercard Price Performance

NYSE:MA traded up $1.96 during mid-day trading on Monday, hitting $504.22. 253,376 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,428,865. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.95, a quick ratio of 1.14 and a current ratio of 1.14. The company has a market cap of $468.73 billion, a PE ratio of 39.93, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.22 and a beta of 1.10. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $480.78 and its 200 day simple moving average is $462.88. Mastercard Incorporated has a 1 year low of $359.77 and a 1 year high of $505.68.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 31st. The credit services provider reported $3.59 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.51 by $0.08. Mastercard had a net margin of 46.45% and a return on equity of 179.78%. The business had revenue of $6.96 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.85 billion. Sell-side analysts expect that Mastercard Incorporated will post 14.3 EPS for the current year.

Mastercard Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 8th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, October 9th will be given a $0.66 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, October 9th. This represents a $2.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.52%. Mastercard’s dividend payout ratio is currently 20.99%.

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.