Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. Sells 16,727 Shares of Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA)

Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. reduced its position in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) by 1.5% in the 2nd quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 1,098,310 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after selling 16,727 shares during the period. Mastercard makes up about 3.6% of Brown Brothers Harriman & Co.’s portfolio, making the stock its 7th largest position. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co.’s holdings in Mastercard were worth $484,531,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the business. VitalStone Financial LLC increased its holdings in shares of Mastercard by 300.0% in the fourth quarter. VitalStone Financial LLC now owns 60 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 45 shares during the last quarter. Westend Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in Mastercard in the 1st quarter valued at about $27,000. Palisade Asset Management LLC bought a new position in Mastercard in the 1st quarter valued at about $27,000. Scarborough Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Mastercard during the fourth quarter worth approximately $28,000. Finally, Beaird Harris Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Mastercard in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Institutional investors own 97.28% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Mastercard

In related news, insider Craig Vosburg sold 9,028 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, June 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $451.06, for a total value of $4,072,169.68. Following the sale, the insider now owns 58,940 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $26,585,476.40. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other Mastercard news, insider Craig Vosburg sold 9,028 shares of Mastercard stock in a transaction dated Thursday, June 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $451.06, for a total transaction of $4,072,169.68. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 58,940 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $26,585,476.40. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, major shareholder Foundation Mastercard sold 111,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, June 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $451.07, for a total value of $50,068,770.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 92,672,308 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $41,801,697,969.56. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 720,467 shares of company stock worth $331,875,955. 0.10% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms recently weighed in on MA. Compass Point began coverage on Mastercard in a report on Wednesday, September 4th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $525.00 price target for the company. Barclays lifted their target price on Mastercard from $530.00 to $536.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, August 5th. KeyCorp upped their price target on shares of Mastercard from $490.00 to $515.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 1st. Piper Sandler lifted their price objective on shares of Mastercard from $531.00 to $536.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, August 2nd. Finally, Argus upgraded shares of Mastercard to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 1st. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-one have assigned a buy rating and three have issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Mastercard has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $510.88.

Mastercard Stock Up 0.3 %

Shares of NYSE:MA opened at $493.36 on Monday. Mastercard Incorporated has a 52-week low of $359.77 and a 52-week high of $496.85. The company has a market capitalization of $458.63 billion, a PE ratio of 39.22, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.92 and a beta of 1.10. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.95, a quick ratio of 1.14 and a current ratio of 1.14. The company has a fifty day moving average of $460.67 and a 200-day moving average of $460.18.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, July 31st. The credit services provider reported $3.59 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.51 by $0.08. Mastercard had a return on equity of 179.78% and a net margin of 46.45%. The business had revenue of $6.96 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.85 billion. On average, equities analysts predict that Mastercard Incorporated will post 14.29 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Mastercard Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 9th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, July 9th were issued a dividend of $0.66 per share. This represents a $2.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.54%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, July 9th. Mastercard’s payout ratio is 20.99%.

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.