Ferguson Wellman Capital Management Inc. Sells 119 Shares of Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA)

Ferguson Wellman Capital Management Inc. decreased its position in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) by 0.8% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 14,458 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after selling 119 shares during the quarter. Ferguson Wellman Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in Mastercard were worth $7,139,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of MA. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Mastercard by 0.4% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 75,584,606 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $36,399,279,000 after purchasing an additional 330,872 shares during the period. Capital Research Global Investors lifted its holdings in shares of Mastercard by 0.3% in the first quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 13,651,904 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $6,574,347,000 after buying an additional 43,881 shares in the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC increased its holdings in Mastercard by 120,665.3% in the 3rd quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 8,041,758 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $3,971,020,000 after acquiring an additional 8,035,099 shares during the last quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Mastercard by 1.4% during the 2nd quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 5,082,729 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $2,241,297,000 after purchasing an additional 71,569 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Canada Pension Plan Investment Board boosted its stake in Mastercard by 2.7% during the second quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board now owns 4,327,168 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $1,908,973,000 after buying an additional 113,238 shares during the last quarter. 97.28% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have recently commented on MA shares. Morgan Stanley increased their target price on Mastercard from $544.00 to $564.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday. Royal Bank of Canada upped their target price on shares of Mastercard from $500.00 to $526.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 1st. KeyCorp lifted their price target on Mastercard from $515.00 to $580.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, November 1st. BMO Capital Markets upped their price objective on Mastercard from $550.00 to $565.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday. Finally, BNP Paribas downgraded Mastercard from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $470.00 target price on the stock. in a research report on Tuesday, September 3rd. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty have given a buy rating and three have given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Mastercard has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $542.88.

Mastercard Stock Down 0.3 %

MA traded down $1.69 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $520.19. 169,005 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,441,875. The company has a current ratio of 1.29, a quick ratio of 1.29 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.36. Mastercard Incorporated has a 12-month low of $394.76 and a 12-month high of $534.03. The firm has a market cap of $477.45 billion, a P/E ratio of 39.45, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.32 and a beta of 1.10. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $502.32 and a 200 day moving average of $470.24.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA) last released its earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The credit services provider reported $3.89 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.73 by $0.16. The firm had revenue of $7.37 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $7.27 billion. Mastercard had a return on equity of 178.27% and a net margin of 45.26%. Mastercard’s revenue for the quarter was up 12.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $3.39 EPS. Analysts predict that Mastercard Incorporated will post 14.45 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Mastercard Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 8th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, October 9th were issued a $0.66 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, October 9th. This represents a $2.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.51%. Mastercard’s payout ratio is 19.97%.

Insider Transactions at Mastercard

In related news, major shareholder Foundation Mastercard sold 119,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, August 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $468.46, for a total value of $55,746,740.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 92,033,308 shares of the company’s stock, 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 legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. In other Mastercard news, CMO Venkata R. Madabhushi sold 4,685 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, September 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $489.86, for a total transaction of $2,294,994.10. Following the sale, the chief marketing officer now directly owns 15,031 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,363,085.66. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, major shareholder Foundation Mastercard sold 119,000 shares of the 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 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. In the last three months, insiders sold 327,370 shares of company stock valued at $153,495,958. Insiders own 0.10% of the company’s stock.

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.