Peoples Bank KS Reduces Stake in Mastercard Incorporated $MA

Peoples Bank KS lowered its stake in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) by 1.2% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,998 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after selling 25 shares during the period. Peoples Bank KS’s holdings in Mastercard were worth $1,123,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also modified their holdings of MA. Family Legacy Financial Solutions LLC purchased a new position in shares of Mastercard during the second quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Flaharty Asset Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Mastercard during the first quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Keystone Global Partners LLC purchased a new position in shares of Mastercard during the first quarter valued at approximately $31,000. 10Elms LLP purchased a new position in shares of Mastercard during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $33,000. Finally, Hughes Financial Services LLC purchased a new position in shares of Mastercard during the first quarter valued at approximately $34,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 97.28% of the company’s stock.

Mastercard Stock Performance

Shares of MA stock opened at $586.39 on Friday. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $576.55 and its 200-day simple moving average is $558.89. The company has a market cap of $530.11 billion, a PE ratio of 39.54, a PEG ratio of 2.45 and a beta of 0.99. The company has a current ratio of 1.16, a quick ratio of 1.16 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.41. Mastercard Incorporated has a 12-month low of $465.59 and a 12-month high of $601.77.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 31st. The credit services provider reported $4.15 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.05 by $0.10. The business had revenue of $8.13 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.95 billion. Mastercard had a return on equity of 200.01% and a net margin of 44.93%.The business’s quarterly revenue was up 16.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $3.50 earnings per share. Analysts expect that Mastercard Incorporated will post 15.91 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Mastercard Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 7th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, October 9th will be given a dividend of $0.76 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, October 9th. This represents a $3.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.5%. Mastercard’s dividend payout ratio is presently 20.50%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Linda Pistecchia Kirkpatrick sold 958 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, June 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $560.00, for a total transaction of $536,480.00. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 23,624 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $13,229,440. This represents a 3.90% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Julius Genachowski sold 312 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, July 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $570.67, for a total value of $178,049.04. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 8,469 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,833,004.23. The trade was a 3.55% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 38,717 shares of company stock valued at $22,684,831. Company insiders own 0.09% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have issued reports on MA shares. Wall Street Zen upgraded Mastercard from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, July 18th. The Goldman Sachs Group reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Mastercard in a report on Friday, August 1st. Wolfe Research set a $655.00 price target on Mastercard in a report on Monday, June 23rd. KeyCorp boosted their price target on Mastercard from $635.00 to $660.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, August 1st. Finally, Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on Mastercard from $639.00 to $661.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, August 1st. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-four have issued a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $630.89.

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.