First Western Trust Bank Cuts Stock Position in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA)

First Western Trust Bank reduced its holdings in shares of Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) by 1.8% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 2,166 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after selling 40 shares during the period. First Western Trust Bank’s holdings in Mastercard were worth $1,070,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also modified their holdings of MA. Highline Wealth Partners LLC purchased a new stake in Mastercard during the 3rd quarter worth about $25,000. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL acquired a new position in shares of Mastercard during the second quarter worth about $34,000. First Personal Financial Services purchased a new stake in shares of Mastercard during the third quarter worth approximately $39,000. Fairway Wealth LLC acquired a new stake in Mastercard in the second quarter valued at approximately $35,000. Finally, Lowe Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Mastercard by 74.0% in the third quarter. Lowe Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 87 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $43,000 after acquiring an additional 37 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 97.28% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CMO Venkata R. Madabhushi sold 4,685 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, September 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $493.10, for a total value of $2,310,173.50. Following the transaction, the chief marketing officer now directly owns 17,118 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,440,885.80. This trade represents a 21.49 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, major shareholder Foundation Mastercard sold 90,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $468.80, for a total value of $42,192,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 91,649,308 shares in the company, valued at approximately $42,965,195,590.40. This trade represents a 0.10 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 99,370 shares of company stock valued at $46,797,168 in the last ninety days. Insiders own 0.10% of the company’s stock.

Mastercard Trading Up 0.3 %

Shares of MA opened at $521.89 on Monday. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $504.09 and its two-hundred day moving average is $471.38. Mastercard Incorporated has a twelve month low of $395.55 and a twelve month high of $534.03. The company has a current ratio of 1.29, a quick ratio of 1.29 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.36. The firm has a market capitalization of $479.01 billion, a P/E ratio of 39.48, a PEG ratio of 2.28 and a beta of 1.10.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 31st. The credit services provider reported $3.89 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.73 by $0.16. The business had revenue of $7.37 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.27 billion. Mastercard had a net margin of 45.26% and a return on equity of 178.27%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 12.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $3.39 EPS. On average, research analysts predict that Mastercard Incorporated will post 14.47 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Mastercard Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 8th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, October 9th were issued a $0.66 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, October 9th. This represents a $2.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.51%. Mastercard’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 19.97%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

MA has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. TD Cowen increased their price objective on shares of Mastercard from $533.00 to $567.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday. Oppenheimer started coverage on Mastercard in a report on Tuesday, October 1st. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $591.00 target price on the stock. BMO Capital Markets lifted their price target on Mastercard from $550.00 to $565.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft increased their price objective on Mastercard from $510.00 to $580.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, November 1st. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $572.00 price objective on shares of Mastercard in a report on Thursday. Four investment 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 stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $549.16.

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.