Alta Capital Management LLC Sells 3,244 Shares of Mastercard Incorporated $MA

Alta Capital Management LLC lessened its stake in shares of Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) by 3.2% during the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 97,050 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after selling 3,244 shares during the quarter. Mastercard comprises 3.1% of Alta Capital Management LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 10th biggest holding. Alta Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Mastercard were worth $55,203,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. LGT Financial Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Mastercard in the second quarter valued at $25,000. Evolution Wealth Management Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Mastercard in the 2nd quarter worth about $29,000. IMG Wealth Management Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Mastercard in the 2nd quarter worth about $31,000. Robbins Farley lifted its position in Mastercard by 50.0% in the 3rd quarter. Robbins Farley now owns 54 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $31,000 after acquiring an additional 18 shares in the last quarter. Finally, True Wealth Design LLC boosted its stake in Mastercard by 45.2% during the 2nd quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 61 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $34,000 after purchasing an additional 19 shares during the last quarter. 97.28% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Mastercard Stock Performance

NYSE MA opened at $550.64 on Wednesday. The company has a market capitalization of $494.47 billion, a PE ratio of 33.33, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.82 and a beta of 0.83. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.36, a quick ratio of 1.12 and a current ratio of 1.03. Mastercard Incorporated has a 52-week low of $465.59 and a 52-week high of $601.77. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $555.04 and a 200 day simple moving average of $564.48.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA) last released its earnings results on Thursday, January 29th. The credit services provider reported $4.76 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.24 by $0.52. Mastercard had a net margin of 45.65% and a return on equity of 203.92%. The firm had revenue of $8.81 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $8.80 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $3.82 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 17.5% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts predict that Mastercard Incorporated will post 15.91 EPS for the current year.

Mastercard Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, February 9th. Shareholders of record on Friday, January 9th will be issued a dividend of $0.87 per share. This represents a $3.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.6%. This is a positive change from Mastercard’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.76. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, January 9th. Mastercard’s dividend payout ratio is currently 21.07%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

MA has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. The Goldman Sachs Group restated a “buy” rating and issued a $739.00 target price on shares of Mastercard in a report on Thursday, January 29th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on Mastercard from $660.00 to $668.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 29th. TD Cowen lifted their price objective on shares of Mastercard from $668.00 to $671.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, January 30th. Truist Financial set a $609.00 target price on shares of Mastercard in a research note on Tuesday, January 20th. Finally, Tigress Financial raised their price target on shares of Mastercard from $685.00 to $730.00 and gave the company a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 6th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, sixteen have issued a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $669.18.

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.