Associated Banc Corp Sells 1,802 Shares of Mastercard Incorporated $MA

Associated Banc Corp lessened its position in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) by 3.1% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 57,170 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after selling 1,802 shares during the quarter. Mastercard accounts for approximately 0.9% of Associated Banc Corp’s portfolio, making the stock its 29th largest holding. Associated Banc Corp’s holdings in Mastercard were worth $32,126,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in MA. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position in Mastercard by 1.2% in the 2nd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 78,475,807 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $44,098,695,000 after buying an additional 931,132 shares during the last quarter. Kingstone Capital Partners Texas LLC purchased a new position in shares of Mastercard during the second quarter worth approximately $11,421,213,000. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD lifted its holdings in shares of Mastercard by 4.7% in 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 acquiring an additional 907,184 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Mastercard by 2.8% during the 2nd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 19,760,552 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $11,062,509,000 after purchasing an additional 542,841 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Wellington Management Group LLP grew its holdings 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 valued at $7,413,936,000 after purchasing an additional 3,765,378 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 97.28% of the company’s stock.

Mastercard Stock Performance

Shares of MA opened at $536.24 on Tuesday. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $562.38 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $568.95. 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 firm has a market capitalization of $481.54 billion, a PE ratio of 36.16, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.27 and a beta of 0.92. Mastercard Incorporated has a one year low of $465.59 and a one year high of $601.77.

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

Mastercard Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 7th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, October 9th were issued 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 0.6%. Mastercard’s dividend payout ratio is 19.44%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have weighed in on the stock. Macquarie boosted their price target on shares of Mastercard from $655.00 to $660.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, October 31st. UBS Group boosted their target price on Mastercard from $690.00 to $700.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, October 31st. Tigress Financial increased their target price on Mastercard from $685.00 to $730.00 and gave the company a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Thursday, November 6th. The Goldman Sachs Group restated a “buy” rating and set a $713.00 price target on shares of Mastercard in a research report on Thursday, October 30th. Finally, Morgan Stanley set a $665.00 price objective on Mastercard and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, October 31st. Four 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’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $652.50.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CFO J. Mehra Sachin sold 17,263 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction 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 sale, the chief financial officer owned 31,234 shares in the company, valued at approximately $18,459,294. The trade was a 35.60% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Corporate 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.