Clarkston Capital Partners LLC Sells 1,240 Shares of Mastercard Incorporated $MA

Clarkston Capital Partners LLC cut its position in shares of Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) by 2.9% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 41,253 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after selling 1,240 shares during the quarter. Clarkston Capital Partners LLC’s holdings in Mastercard were worth $23,182,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. LGT Financial Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Mastercard during the 2nd quarter valued at $25,000. Family Legacy Financial Solutions LLC purchased a new position in Mastercard during the 2nd quarter valued at about $26,000. Flaharty Asset Management LLC bought a new stake in Mastercard during the first quarter worth about $27,000. Keystone Global Partners LLC purchased a new stake in Mastercard in the first quarter worth about $31,000. Finally, IMG Wealth Management Inc. bought a new position in shares of Mastercard during the second quarter valued at approximately $31,000. 97.28% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Mastercard Stock Performance

Shares of MA stock opened at $545.56 on Friday. 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 company has a 50 day moving average price of $559.71 and a 200-day moving average price of $568.48. Mastercard Incorporated has a 52 week low of $465.59 and a 52 week high of $601.77. The firm has a market capitalization of $489.91 billion, a PE ratio of 36.79, a P/E/G ratio of 2.27 and a beta of 0.92.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, October 30th. The credit services provider reported $4.38 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $4.31 by $0.07. The company 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 firm’s quarterly revenue was up 16.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $3.89 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Mastercard Incorporated will post 15.91 earnings per share for the current year.

Mastercard Announces Dividend

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have recently commented on MA shares. The Goldman Sachs Group reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $713.00 price target on shares of Mastercard in a research report on Thursday, October 30th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their target price on Mastercard from $669.00 to $660.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, October 31st. UBS Group raised their price target on Mastercard from $690.00 to $700.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, October 31st. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Mastercard from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, October 18th. Finally, Cowen restated a “buy” rating on shares of Mastercard in a research note 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 issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Mastercard presently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $652.50.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Mastercard news, CFO J. Mehra Sachin sold 17,263 shares of the firm’s 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 transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 31,234 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $18,459,294. This trade represents a 35.60% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 0.09% 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.