Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC Sells 1,330 Shares of Mastercard Incorporated $MA

Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC lessened its holdings in shares of Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) by 67.8% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 631 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after selling 1,330 shares during the quarter. Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC’s holdings in Mastercard were worth $315,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. E Fund Management Hong Kong Co. Ltd. increased its holdings in shares of Mastercard by 820.0% during the 4th quarter. E Fund Management Hong Kong Co. Ltd. now owns 46 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $26,000 after acquiring an additional 41 shares during the last quarter. Strive Financial Group LLC acquired a new stake in Mastercard during the 4th quarter valued at $27,000. Hyposwiss Advisors SA bought a new position in Mastercard during the fourth quarter worth $29,000. First Pacific Financial boosted its position in Mastercard by 113.8% during the first quarter. First Pacific Financial now owns 62 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $31,000 after purchasing an additional 33 shares during the period. Finally, Bay Harbor Wealth Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Mastercard by 54.1% in the fourth quarter. Bay Harbor Wealth Management LLC now owns 57 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $33,000 after purchasing an additional 20 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 97.28% of the company’s stock.

Mastercard Stock Performance

NYSE:MA opened at $543.55 on Friday. The company has a fifty day moving average of $503.99 and a 200-day moving average of $516.23. The firm has a market capitalization of $480.27 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.46, a P/E/G ratio of 1.69 and a beta of 0.73. The company has a quick ratio of 0.98, a current ratio of 0.98 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.56. Mastercard Incorporated has a twelve month low of $464.52 and a twelve month high of $601.77.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, April 30th. The credit services provider reported $4.60 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $4.41 by $0.19. The business had revenue of $8.40 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $8.26 billion. Mastercard had a net margin of 45.88% and a return on equity of 212.96%. Mastercard’s revenue was up 15.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $3.73 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Mastercard Incorporated will post 19.62 EPS for the current year.

Mastercard Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 7th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, July 9th will be given a dividend of $0.87 per share. This represents a $3.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.6%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, July 9th. Mastercard’s dividend payout ratio is 20.14%.

Insider Transactions at Mastercard

In related news, insider Raj Seshadri sold 4,828 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, July 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $525.00, for a total transaction of $2,534,700.00. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 16,429 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,625,225. This represents a 22.71% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, insider Sandra A. Arkell sold 200 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, July 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $540.00, for a total value of $108,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 3,322 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,793,880. The trade was a 5.68% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders have sold a total of 7,005 shares of company stock worth $3,689,976 in the last three months. Insiders own 0.09% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Dbs Bank raised shares of Mastercard to a “moderate buy” rating in a research report on Friday, March 27th. Raymond James Financial set a $609.00 price objective on Mastercard in a report on Friday, May 1st. Robert W. Baird boosted their target price on shares of Mastercard from $660.00 to $680.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 7th. Susquehanna dropped their price objective on Mastercard from $670.00 to $665.00 and set a “positive” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, May 1st. Finally, Piper Sandler assumed coverage on Mastercard in a research note on Monday, June 29th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $597.00 price target on the stock. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty have given a Buy rating, one has issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Mastercard currently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $653.92.

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.