Altus Wealth Group LLC Sells 25 Shares of Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA)

Altus Wealth Group LLC reduced its holdings in shares of Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) by 2.8% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 874 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after selling 25 shares during the quarter. Altus Wealth Group LLC’s holdings in Mastercard were worth $432,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Swedbank AB acquired a new position in Mastercard in the 1st quarter valued at $660,652,000. PineStone Asset Management Inc. raised its holdings in Mastercard by 145.6% in the 2nd quarter. PineStone Asset Management Inc. now owns 1,777,468 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $784,148,000 after acquiring an additional 1,053,616 shares in the last quarter. Manning & Napier Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Mastercard in the 2nd quarter valued at $259,071,000. Capital World Investors raised its holdings in Mastercard by 13.3% in the 1st quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 3,293,617 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $1,586,107,000 after acquiring an additional 387,317 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Lone Pine Capital LLC raised its holdings in Mastercard by 53.4% in the 2nd quarter. Lone Pine Capital LLC now owns 1,043,557 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $460,376,000 after acquiring an additional 363,133 shares in the last quarter. 97.28% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have weighed in on the company. KeyCorp lifted their price objective on Mastercard from $490.00 to $515.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, August 1st. Compass Point began coverage on Mastercard in a research note on Wednesday, September 4th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $525.00 price target on the stock. Oppenheimer began coverage on Mastercard in a research note on Tuesday, October 1st. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $591.00 price target on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price objective on Mastercard from $500.00 to $526.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 1st. Finally, Barclays boosted their price objective on Mastercard from $536.00 to $576.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 10th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eighteen have issued a buy rating and three have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Mastercard presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $525.68.

Mastercard Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE MA traded up $0.79 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, hitting $513.81. The company had a trading volume of 293,480 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,428,247. The company has a market capitalization of $477.65 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 40.78, a P/E/G ratio of 2.22 and a beta of 1.10. Mastercard Incorporated has a 1 year low of $359.77 and a 1 year high of $518.82. The company has a current ratio of 1.14, a quick ratio of 1.14 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.95. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $489.16 and its 200-day moving average price is $464.58.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 31st. The credit services provider reported $3.59 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.51 by $0.08. The company had revenue of $6.96 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.85 billion. Mastercard had a return on equity of 179.78% and a net margin of 46.45%. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Mastercard Incorporated will post 14.3 earnings per share for the current year.

Mastercard Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 8th. Investors of record on Wednesday, October 9th will be paid a dividend of $0.66 per share. This represents a $2.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.51%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, October 9th. Mastercard’s dividend payout ratio is 20.99%.

Insider Activity at Mastercard

In related news, major shareholder Foundation Mastercard sold 119,000 shares of Mastercard stock in a transaction on Friday, August 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $468.46, for a total transaction of $55,746,740.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 92,033,308 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $43,113,923,465.68. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other Mastercard news, major shareholder Foundation Mastercard sold 119,000 shares of Mastercard stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $468.46, for a total transaction of $55,746,740.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 92,033,308 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $43,113,923,465.68. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CFO J. Mehra Sachin sold 13,439 shares of Mastercard stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $455.00, for a total value of $6,114,745.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 27,304 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $12,423,320. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 340,809 shares of company stock valued at $159,610,703. Company insiders own 0.10% of the company’s stock.

Mastercard Company Profile

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.