Mastercard Incorporated $MA Shares Sold by Analyst IMS Investment Management Services Ltd.

Analyst IMS Investment Management Services Ltd. trimmed its holdings in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) by 42.7% in the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 9,822 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after selling 7,327 shares during the quarter. Analyst IMS Investment Management Services Ltd.’s holdings in Mastercard were worth $5,587,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in MA. LGT Financial Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Mastercard during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $25,000. Family Legacy Financial Solutions LLC acquired a new stake in Mastercard during the 2nd quarter worth $26,000. Flaharty Asset Management LLC acquired a new stake in Mastercard during the 1st quarter worth $27,000. Evolution Wealth Management Inc. purchased a new stake in Mastercard in the second quarter valued at $29,000. Finally, Robbins Farley lifted its position in Mastercard by 50.0% in the third quarter. Robbins Farley now owns 54 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $31,000 after acquiring an additional 18 shares during the last quarter. 97.28% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Mastercard Stock Down 0.3%

Shares of Mastercard stock opened at $577.89 on Tuesday. The company has a market cap of $518.95 billion, a P/E ratio of 36.95, a PEG ratio of 2.28 and a beta of 0.87. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $555.85 and a two-hundred day moving average of $565.42. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.40, a quick ratio of 1.12 and a current ratio of 1.12. Mastercard Incorporated has a one year low of $465.59 and a one year high of $601.77.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 30th. The credit services provider reported $4.38 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.31 by $0.07. The business had revenue of $8.60 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $8.53 billion. Mastercard had a net margin of 45.28% and a return on equity of 202.03%. The business’s revenue was up 16.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $3.89 earnings per share. On average, analysts forecast that Mastercard Incorporated will post 15.91 earnings per share for the current year.

Mastercard Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, February 9th. Shareholders of record on Friday, January 9th will be given a dividend of $0.87 per share. This represents a $3.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.6%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, January 9th. This is an increase from Mastercard’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.76. Mastercard’s payout ratio is presently 19.44%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have issued reports on MA shares. Macquarie raised their price objective on Mastercard from $655.00 to $660.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, October 31st. Evercore ISI set a $610.00 target price on Mastercard in a research report on Friday, December 12th. Truist Financial dropped their price target on Mastercard from $638.00 to $630.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, November 4th. Robert W. Baird boosted their price objective on Mastercard from $640.00 to $660.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, October 6th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $713.00 price objective on shares of Mastercard in a report on Thursday, October 30th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-one have issued a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Mastercard currently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $657.48.

About Mastercard

Mastercard Incorporated is a global payments technology company that operates a network connecting consumers, financial institutions, merchants, governments and businesses in more than 200 countries and territories. The company facilitates electronic payments and transaction processing for credit, debit and prepaid card products carrying the Mastercard brand, while also providing a range of payment-related services to issuers, acquirers and merchants. Its technology and network enable authorization, clearing and settlement of payments and support a broad set of use cases including point-of-sale, e-commerce and mobile payments.

Beyond core transaction processing, Mastercard offers a suite of value-added services such as fraud and risk management, identity and authentication tools, tokenization and digital wallet support, cross-border and commercial payment solutions, and data analytics and consulting services for merchants and financial partners.